A Reaper In Thedas
by ReaperScion
Summary: Rick Morgan, a security expert working for a corporation on the colony of Trident is sucked into the world of Dragon Age after he comes into contact with the Reapers. Will he be able to uncover the greatest mystery in the history of Thedas? WARNING: Contains violence, language, gore. Main character is OC. All reviews appreciated.
1. Invasion

Rick Morgan was on the run for his life.

The moment those damn huge Reaper things landed on Trident, Rick decided his low-paid job wasn't worth it.

* * *

Some small research company called Sphere Laboratories had hired him as part of the security staff, in case they ever needed to defend themselves against the myriad of rival giants operating on Trident. The main players, such as Binary Helix and Exo Geni, had vast resources at their disposal, meaning the chances of discovering some sort of scientific treasure trove in Trident's massive oceans were highly unlikely for small firms like Sphere Laboratories.

Thus, Sphere was left to its own devices as the others didn't see it as a noteworthy threat. Trident's criminal population likewise never bothered the tiny company. There weren't any valuable artifacts or high-tech equipment pieces on the premises for pirates to take, and simply too few people were employed for slavers to grab. All in all, this made for a very boring job for the security staff.

* * *

Rick's typical day consisted of sitting in the surveillance room sipping tea (or coffee, depending on what the other guards bought for their little food stash), munching biscuits (which everyone agreed were an absolute necessity to go along with the tea or coffee) and watching the idiot scientists go about their work.

The most exciting day at work in Rick's opinion was when a camera went offline in one of the labs, and a minute later a scared out of his mind scientist barged into the security room and started babbling incoherently about an emergency or some such. Fearing the worst, Rick checked his shields generator, grabbed the Piranha Assault Shotgun that one of the other security guys had acquired off one of his Alliance contacts (or so he said anyway) and made a run for the lab. When he arrived, he found the eggheads fussing over some destroyed research sample that had a nice, crispy burnt look to it. The camera was hanging out of its wall pivot thingy, and there was a smashed microscope lying underneath. After calming the lab geeks down, they told Rick that the scorched sample was "the discovery of a lifetime," and when it caught fire, the lead scientist had thrown a microscope at the wall in a fit of rage, which smashed the camera.

To make matters even funnier, two days later, the so called "discovery of a lifetime" was revealed to have been discovered, tested and cataloged by Binary Helix over three weeks prior to the incident at Sphere. Sphere's lead scientist had unfortunately spilled his guts to the media before BH's announcement, ranting about the incompetence of the other scientists regarding the treatment of their _amazing_ discovery. The fact that the organism was nothing more but the Tridentian equivelant of a seahorse, albeit quite large, and held no "dormant potential," ensured that Sphere Laboratories was made the laughing stock of the galaxy's scientific community. Naturally, the company fired the foolish researcher on the spot.

* * *

This particular incident, along with several other idiotic occurences, solidified Rick's decision to leg it at the dawn of the Reaper invasion without looking back. The imbeciles were simply not worth saving; they were hopeless and their fruitless research wouldn't get anyone anywhere. Similarly, the low pay didn't make defending his workplace worthwhile in the face of an enemy of apocalyptic proportions. Before heading out to his skycar, Rick ensured he got all the supplies from the guardsroom that he could carry. Everything from the mini-fridge was stuffed haphazardly into Rick's duffel bag, along with the biscuit tins and other foodstuffs that were located in the cupboards. Rick likewise checked the lockers for anything useful.

He found two pairs of jeans (one blue, one black), a t-shirt with a picture of Blasto the Hanar Spectre holding an Asari stripper in his arms, tentacles whatever, and a smelly pair of boots. There weren't any other guards on duty, and Rick doubted they'd come back for this crap. The showers in the back contained a variety of hygiene products, including shampoo, soap (the usuals) and for some reason an Asari scalp moisturiser. Rick had no idea why it was in there, seeing as Sphere employed only Humans, but he tossed it in the bag anyway.

Lastly, he grabbed his armaments from the weapons locker. There was a bit of fumbling with the keypad as Rick accidentally punched the wrong number in.

_I'm sure I'm not the only one on edge today. Although… Ah it doesn't matter…_

After a minute, Rick managed to enter the correct code. He strapped a Carnifex to his hip, put a combat knife in his boot, placed an old Mattock in the duffel along with a box of thermal clips and took the Piranha in his hands.

"That's it… I think," he mumbled to himself, and left for the parking area.

* * *

Outside was a mess. Smoke could be seen in the distance, along with strange spires that kept bobbing up and down as if they were walking around. The airways were jam-packed with traffic, people desperately trying to get home to their families. People were milling about in a panic trying to access their skycars, while a duo of frightened policemen at the entrance on street level tried to prevent any violence that would inevitably arise. Some civvies off the street started making their way into the car park through side entrances, trying to find someone who would take them. Some were refused, while others were permitted to hitch a ride. A tremendous crash followed by a bone-chilling, spine-tingling horn blast silenced everyone in the area. One of the sleek black 2km long Reapers had landed not too far away and was carving up the ground with big red death lasers. Beautiful glass towers housing thousands fell as the malevolent machine made its path through the urban jungle. Huge dust clouds and tremors assaulted the onlookers like a tsunami. After the initial shock, people started moving with an even greater panicked urgency. They had only seen the Reapers in the initial news reports minutes prior, it was nothing compared with encountering one in person.

Each time the terrifying horn blared, it was as if a Krogan was squeezing Rick's head. It was incredibly hard to think. After a few more moments of dazed confusion, Rick made a beeline for his car. There was some idiot trying to pry the door open with a Swiss Army Knife. Rick punched the bloke square in the face, knocking him out. He picked up the knife, threw the duffel on the back seat and immediately started the car.

_I didn't know they still made these knives, not with everyone having access to omni-tools… Must've been a souvenir or something…_

As he ascended slowly into the sky, Rick observed that there was panic in the traffic lanes. Fighters, both Alliance and Reaper, screamed through the sky. It was obvious the Alliance pilots were fighting a losing battle, Rick noticed more than one falling victim to the Reaper fighters and crashing to the ground below. He could see smoke everywhere in New Cousteau, but it was mainly concentrated in the areas where the actual Reapers were walking around and annihilating everything in sight. There would be no time to go home, if there was anything still left of it.

Suddenly, one of the enemy craft strafed the line of civilian traffic, causing at least six or seven skycars to explode, and another two or three to simply plummet downwards. It was horrifying. Many drivers decided to just fly in any direction that wasn't congested with other traffic.

Rick was already doing this, when a fat yellow shuttle came screaming out of the blue. It was on fire, having obviously taken damage from the Reaper forces. It was on a course straight for Rick. There was nothing he could do.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT!" he screamed just before it hit.

Somehow, the shuttle just glanced off the side of Rick's car, but it was enough. The engine stalled, and the car began to tumble downwards. Rick was barely conscious during the ordeal, but that was rectified once the vehicle hit the ground.

* * *

Rick came to after an unknown span of time. He had been thrown in the back of the car, and the front was steadily filling up with water.

"Oh great just what I bloody need," he grumbled.

Rick's head was pounding, and he felt extremely weak in general. When he tried to move, an unbelievable pain wracked his back and his vision blurred. He thought there was something stuck in his leg too.

_Pain is good, means I'm still alive… But for how long…_

At that exact moment, he heard movement outside, followed by strange chatter and some noises that were definitely not human. Then there was silence. Rick wrapped his hands around the shotgun and the duffel, which had both conveniently landed on either side of him. Before Rick could react, a hand shot through the roof of the car and grabbed Rick by his shirt. More hands began to pry open the metal to pull him out. To Rick, it looked as if everyone was wearing gloves with some strange blue pattern.

_Perhaps that's a bunch of security mechs sent to rescue me or something. Or…_

Rick shook and screamed as he stared into the face of death. What could only be described as an abomination was holding him in its hands, which were as cold as ice. It had the face of a Batarian, but its arm had a Human skull sticking out of it. There were glowy cybernetics everywhere along its body, including the hands. There were other creatures clustered around the pond into which the car fell. They sneered at their Human victim, making grunts and other gurgling noises like teapots. Some sort of consensus was reached amongst them, and Rick's captor began to drag him along the grass somewhere. He couldn't really see much, his vision was still blurry, however he was able to make out an emerald canopy above.

_Must be in a park or something… But what difference does any of it make?_

All the fight had gone out of him. Rick knew these were Reaper creatures. It was obvious all of them used to be people. Therefore, a similar future awaited Rick. They had taken his Piranha and Carnifex, so there was nothing he could do. Although, they did forget the duffel bag. It was clinging onto his leg; he didn't know how it got there.

_Ha, must be the magic scalp moisturizer!_

* * *

But it didn't matter, Rick's fate was sealed. As they approached the center of the park and the trees began to part, Rick could hear other people crying, screaming and every now and then there was a wet squelch as something (Rick didn't want to think what it was) happened. There was also a humming sound. Like the Reaper horn, it made it difficult to think for everyone.

Rick's thoughts were snuffed out one by one like a series of dying candles, until he could think no more. The Reaper creatures had begun hooking him up to the source of the buzzing noise. Glowing tubes wrapped themselves around him like snakes, and electrodes (or something similar) were attached to his head. As Rick looked around, he saw people being impaled on spikes. Their screams were drowned out by the horrible, wretched buzzing.

As the creatures prepared to conclude whatever hellish ritual they had begun with Rick, something happened. An Alliance fighter, out of control, came careening out of the sky. The people being corralled by the husks began to panic, but the beasts weren't fazed by any of it. They probably couldn't feel fear. Some desperate folks tried to make a run for it only to be gunned down by the Batarian lookalikes.

At the same time as all that was happening, the ritual had begun. The husk stood back as it finished pressing buttons and stared straight at Rick. He felt his body being pierced in several places, followed by a trickling sensation that made it seem as if he was being inflated somehow. Then the fighter impacted the monolith.

Darkness enveloped Rick. A metallic voice then whispered "You were lucky Human, very lucky…"

Rick woke up gasping in a wide open green field, and then collapsed again as exhaustion took over.

* * *

_A/N: So the first chapter is out! This is my first fanfic of any kind, I will update as often as I can. I would greatly appreciate tips and advice in any Reviews!_

_This story is inspired by **Wyolake's** _**Middle of Nowhere,**_and **totallybursar's **_**Stars Fade**. _Both of these are absolutely amazing pieces of writing.__  
_

_Go and read them now!_

_Mass Effect and Dragon Age belong to BioWare.  
_


	2. Appearance

Ronald was extremely stressed out. It was beginning to seem as if the Maker had some sort of grudge against honest, hardworking farmers like himself. He was part of a small, peaceful village community somewhere North-East of what used to be the village of Lothering. The accursed Blight had swallowed up all the people that had not escaped, and was bound to be heading to Ronald's village next.

At least a third of the local community had already packed their bags and fled North to Denerim. Every day, more and more refugees passed through, ensuring that the Chantry was packed with the sick and injured.

The reports were unsettling. The Darkspawn Horde had begun to pillage other villages near Lothering, killing everyone except the women. It was no doubt that whatever awaited them was beyond horrific, worse than death, and so the villagers prayed for them every night. The elders had agreed to evacuate everyone before the Darkspawn even got close. Ronald was furious at the thought of losing the land his ancestors had taken care of for generations. The fact that his boy was being taken away to serve in the King's Army made his mood even worse; it was practically a death sentence. Barbara died at the birth of his son; he would have nothing left to live for. Ronald was seriously considering staying back to go down with the village against the vile Darkspawn.

* * *

Hence, the events of the last five days seemed to just add insult to injury. A strange obelisk had appeared in the middle of one of Roland's fields five days ago. It was extremely finely crafted from an unknown substance, so much so that certain twists on the structure dazzled the eye, for lack of a better word. There was also some strange, white and blue thing stuck in the top of the obelisk. It seemed to possess a glass canopy, but alas the villagers could not pry it open. It was stuck fast to the metal of the object, which was also unknown to the locals. The elders had debated the monolith's origins, and everyone came to the same conclusion. It could only be magic.

The fact that two days later a whole company of Templars marched in confirmed their suspicions. They had immediately declared the area unsafe, saying that there was a tear in the Veil here the likes of which they've never encountered before. They spent a full day examining the foreign objects, before finally cracking the glass of the thing sitting atop the monolith. The Knight-Lieutenant informed the Revered Mother that they had found a dead abomination sitting inside. The creature had been wearing an extremely peculiar suit of armor. It was colored navy blue, with white shoulder guards, two white stripes running down the breastplate, and a strange symbol on the heart which resembled an "A." The helmet was the most intriguing however, seeing as it was made up of orange glass only slightly reinforced by the material of the suit. The men wondered how anyone, even an abomination, would survive in battle wearing some silly glass helmet. Underneath the armor, the abomination looked eerily human. It was wearing a strange set of clothing, which was also branded with the odd "A" symbol. Its face looked as ordinary, typical, and forgetful as people you'd see in Denerim that you wouldn't think twice about. But beneath the garments, one of its feet was fully metal, and there were other bits of it on its arms and torso. Why would anybody mutilate themselves, or even be able to as this man did? It was obvious he died long after he put the pieces in, so the logical conclusion would be that he is indeed an abomination or some sort of insane maleficarum as the Templars believed.

The main Templar force left the next morning, having tied the strange pillar to a large horse-drawn cart. It was surprising that it didn't break, because the obelisk weighed more than several battering rams combined. The abomination's armor and other items of interest, including an old duffel bag, were placed in a chest that was transported in the Knight-Lieutenant's carriage. The body of the abomination itself was burned for fear of it coming back to life and slaughtering everyone. The Templars then left for the Circle Tower in order to further examine the objects they confiscated from the field.

* * *

Just over a day had passed since the Chantry's men left. Ron was going about his usual business, stacking some hay for his animals, when a group of children ran to his barn screaming as if the Archdemon himself was nipping at their heels. Ron was on full alert.

"Ser Ronald! Ser Ronald! We saw something… While we were out playing in your field!" gasped a young lad as he slid to a stop.

"What did you see m'boy?" asked Ron suspiciously.

"There were lights ser… Near that place where the demon spire appeared!"

"What!?" Ron was incredulous. _Demons again? So soon?_ "Quickly children! Fetch the Templars and be off to your homes! I want to see what is happening."

"Of course ser!"

Luckily, the Templars decided to leave a few men at the Chantry, just in case. It seemed as though their precaution paid off. So while the children scampered off to tell the warriors, Ron grabbed the closest weapon that was on hand; a pitchfork, and ran in the direction of the lights.

* * *

Rick was dreaming. He was standing in a field, not unlike the one he woke up in earlier before instantly collapsing again. But there was something slightly different about it. The grass didn't look quite right, and the atmosphere had a weird, hazy feel. The sky was yellow, and there was a _floating island _up there.

_Well I sure have weird dreams. What the hell is this? Floating islands? The last time I dreamed about that Galaxy of Fantasy game was-_

Rick nearly had a heart attack when a hologram of one of those Reaper bastards appeared in front of him. It glowed a menacing red; it was as if evil was oozing out of it. Its four yellow "eyes" were staring at Rick, following his every movement. Rick stared at it in return. It looked somewhat different from the Reapers he saw on Trident; grander, fatter and the "eyes". None of the ones on Trident had "eyes" like this. After a minute, it spoke.

"You are one of us, and yet you are not. An interesting specimen." Its steel voice boomed across the imaginary field, it was as loud as the horns back on Trident.

"What have you done to me? What do you mean by that?" Rick was angry, frustrated and afraid.

"There is no pain, there is no fear. Embrace perfection and the answers will be clear." Replied the machine in a cryptically detached tone.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You answer my question in a goddamn riddle!?" Rick was starting to lose the plot. He felt like punching something. This Reaper had to be taking the piss.

"There is little time. Follow your instincts and prepare this… planet." And with that, the hologram flickered and died out.

"Oh no you don't! Son of a bitch! You can't just leave me here!" Rick bellowed.

There was nothing there now of course, but he still felt like venting his anger. After a few minutes of cursing, crying and punching the ground, Rick _faded _out and went into more familiar dreams - or rather nightmares, of Reapers tearing up New Cousteau, and husks converting people into more of themselves…

* * *

Something was poking him, and it was rather annoying. He'd finally managed to put the nightmares away and have a peaceful rest, but no, somebody had to go and interrupt.

"Unnnnngghhhh," he groaned as he tried to open his eyes.

Rick looked up to see a man with a rusty pitchfork, of all things, standing over him with great fear in his eyes.

"Stay down foul demon! Don't make a move!" commanded the man in a jittery voice. He had a sort of British accent.

It was then that the situation dawned on Rick. The man was _genuinely _afraid. He didn't seem to have any advanced technology on him, nor was there anything of note in the area. Just a rickety old farmhouse in the distance.

_Maybe I'm stranded on some slaver planet, or one of them lost colonies or something…_

As Rick looked down at his hands, he suddenly realised why the poor guy thought he was a demon. The Reaper cybernetics were visible through his skin, which had gone translucent like tracing paper. He could see the cables coiled around his muscles, thin wires plugged into bones, and the dancing blue lights. He felt like a Christmas tree, albeit one that was going to vomit. Rick imagined his whole body looked similar to his hands right now.

_This explains the dream I had, although I don't think I was fully "converted" like those other poor bastards. That explosion or whatever it was must've interrupted things, cos I still have my free will… That's probably what the Reaper meant when he said I'm one of them and not at the same time. I have the looks but I don't drool around obeying their every thought. Perhaps I should explain this to Pitchfork Man…_

"Hey listen, I'm not-" Rick stopped at the sound of his own voice. It was booming and metallic like a goddamn Reaper! Those nanites they pumped into him changed a lot more than his appearance.

Pitchfork Man looked even more terrified now. "Be silent abomination! I will not listen to any temptations you have to offer! The Templars will arrive shortly and deal with you once and for all!"

_Huh? Templars? Am I in Medieval Europe? If this is a joke it sure as hell ain't funny, although it definitely doesn't look like this guy is joking. I doubt an actor could even pull this performance off…_

Rick was snapped back to reality as he heard the _plonk plonk plonk _ of metal boots in the mud. Three men in massive suits of plate stood before him. Their heads were covered with square helmets that only revealed their eyes. The breastplates had some sort of logo that resembled a sword going on fire. Each of the men had drawn their blades and were shuffling about nervously as they waited for Rick to make a move.

_I thought Templars had a red cross as their logo, not some sword on fire! _

"Umm… Hello gents! How are you?" Rick cringed at the sound of his Reaper voice, and the Templars were taken aback just as the farmer was.

"Stay back farmer, we shall take care of this vile beast!" one of the Templars, presumably the leader motioned to the man.

"Yes m'lord, thank you m'lord," he acknowledged and backed away.

"On your feet creature! Make one wrong move and we'll fill you with steel!" barked the leader.

Rick did as he was told. "Look, I'm not what you think I am. I have no idea how I got here, and I'm certainly not supposed to look or talk like this!"

"Be silent! We are not interested in your lies maleficar, or demon, whatever you may be!"

"I've got no idea what you're talking about. I know my appearance is strange but surely you must-"

"That's enough! Men, smite the beast and put it out of its misery!" ordered the Templar leader.

The Templars did something completely weird then. Some sort of energy thing emanated from them and passed right through Rick. He didn't feel a thing but nonetheless flinched. The Templars paused for a second, panic taking hold as they realised nothing was happening. Then they let loose their battle cries and charged forward to impale him.

So Rick did the first thing that came to mind, and thrusted his fist out at the Templars.

* * *

_A/N: And the second chapter is out. Please review and leave any suggestions or ideas you may have. Also, I will gladly answer any questions about the story. _

_Oh, and Happy New Year! :)  
_

_Mass Effect and Dragon Age belongs to BioWare.  
_


	3. Last of the Wardens

**Somewhere near Redcliffe**

Marina Cousland couldn't sleep. The events of the last few weeks were haunting her. Simply too much had occurred for her to casually shrug off.

* * *

It all began at her family's estate in Highever. Bryce Cousland, Marina's father, was the Teyrn of Highever. King Cailan had requested his assistance in repelling the Darkspawn Horde at the Tevinter ruin of Ostagar. Arl Rendon Howe of Amaranthine, a supposed friend of her father's, was also sending his forces to aid the King, or so everyone thought. He claimed his forces were delayed, but the real plan was to seize Castle Cousland when the Teyrn's men departed for Ostagar. Sure enough, Bryce suspected nothing of Howe's treachery, and sent his men to Ostagar, leaving the castle all but defenceless. Howe's men struck out at the dead of night, catching everyone by surprise. Marina was lucky enough to escape thanks to her loyal Mabari war-hound, Dronezilla, and the senior Grey Warden Duncan. Her entire family, the castle's servants, everyone she knew, fell to the blades of Howe's troops. Duncan offered her a new purpose, to serve the greater good; to combat the Blight as one of the legendary Grey Wardens. Marina had no choice but to accept.

Then there was Ostagar itself. Marina had been introduced to Daveth, a "fellow" from Denerim, and Ser Jory, a knight from Redcliffe, who were also being recruited into the ranks of the Wardens. The only actual Warden she met apart from Duncan was Alistair. He was a bit of an idiot, but meant well. As a Junior Warden, he was tasked with supervising the trio as they made their way to an old Grey Warden ruin in the Korcari Wilds to retrieve important Warden documents, and collect Darkspawn blood for the Joining ritual along the way.

They met Morrigan, a Witch of the Wilds, at the ruin. She informed them that the documents were no longer there; her mother Flemeth had removed them, and was watching over them presently. She offered to take the group to where she lived in order to give them the papers. Marina wasn't really intimidated by Morrigan, however Alistair was of the opinion that she'd turn them into toads as soon as the opportunity presented itself, and Daveth thought she'd cook them in a pot. Neither of those things happened of course, but the boys were stunned by Flemeth, who was _the _Witch of the Wilds. She seemed full of shit to Marina, talking nonsense and asking silly questions. However, Marina played along and got the documents without any hiccups.

The band promptly returned to Duncan to deliver the items he requested. He was pleased with their efforts, and went to set up the ritual in a secluded part of the camp. Grey Warden secrets were not to be shared with outsiders at all costs. The ritual was revealed to the recruits when they arrived. They would have to drink a vile concoction of the Darkspawn blood they collected earlier that very day. This was the frightening source of the Wardens' power. It enabled them to "sense" the Darkspawn and hunt them very effectively. Recruits would have to master the taint or die.

Daveth did not survive. Marina watched with terror as his body was wracked with pain, convulsing on the ground before finally lying still. It was at this point that Ser Jory lost his composure. He backed away and drew his sword, saying that if he'd known about this, he would've never gone to the Wardens. His wife had a child on the way; he didn't want to leave her a widow and the child without a father. Duncan offered him once last chance, which Ser Jory declined. A brief fight ensued, ending with Duncan gutting the poor knight. Duncan gravely said he was sorry; it was certainly a heavy burden having to keep such terrible secrets at any cost.

Then it was Marina's turn. She managed to survive the Joining, but not without scars. Excruciating pain permeated her body, and she saw a horrific vision of the current Archdemon. The Archdemons were corrupted Old Tevinter Gods that led the Darkspawn Hordes across the ages. Their appearance always marked a true Blight, since they were the only ones who could organise the Darkspawn well enough for a topside campaign. Otherwise, the creatures stayed in the Deep Roads battling the Dwarves, with occasional raids to the surface, until they found a new Old God to corrupt.

After taking some time to recover, Marina met King Cailan, Teyrn Loghain and Duncan at the command tent. King Cailan had won several victories against the Darkspawn already, and was convinced the upcoming battle would be no different. Cailan's childish enthusiasm really grated on Loghain's nerves however, who was sure the battle wouldn't go so well. Loghain Mac Tir was a famous Fereldan general, having repelled the Orlesians after roughly 80 years of occupation. He was an honourable man; everyone treated him with great respect. His daughter Anora was married to Cailan, making her the Queen of Ferelden. The plan was for Cailan to hold the line against the Darkspawn at the gates to Ostagar. As the Darkspawn gathered at the chokepoint, Loghain's troops would sweep in from the back in a pincer movement and annihilate the creatures. Marina and Alistair were tasked with lighting the beacon on top of the Tower of Ishal in order to signal the Teyrn's forces to attack. Duncan and the rest of the Wardens would be down on the ground with Cailan.

Unfortunately, the battle went awry as soon as it commenced. Cailan had foolishly charged out of the strategic chokepoint and engaged the Darkspawn (who had superior numbers by far) in the open. To make matters worse, the despicable beasts somehow managed to penetrate Ostagar in a surprise sneak attack. As a result, the Tower of Ishal was overrun, forcing Marina, Alistair and Dronezilla (who had been returned to Marina after she came back from the Wilds) to fight through waves of Darkspawn with the help of the few survivors that remained. They managed to light the beacon after a gruelling battle with an ogre. It was a revolting purple skinned beast that had large horns, and was easily four or five times larger than a common man. It managed to kill a mage and a soldier that was helping the trio before Marina finally plunged her blade down its throat.

Their victory was short-lived however, because as soon as they lit the beacon, a dozen genlocks sprung an ambush, turning them into pincushions with their crossbows. Marina, the Mabari and Alistair lost consciousness due to the trauma and blood loss, only waking up a significant while later in Flemeth's hut. Naturally, they were confused as to how they got there. Morrigan informed Marina that Flemeth had rescued them. After inquiring about the result of the battle, Marina was shocked, and furious to find out that Loghain ignored the beacon, preferring to withdraw his troops. Cailan, Duncan, and everyone else in the field perished due to the Teyrn's treachery. As far as they knew, Marina and Alistair were the last remaining Wardens in Ferelden. The overwhelming odds put immense pressure on them, threatening to collapse their wills and demoralise their spirits.

Fortunately, there was still hope. The Grey Warden treaties they retrieved from the ruin were still intact. They compelled the Dwarves, the Elves, the Mages and the Humans to assist the Wardens in times of Darkspawn Invasion. Flemeth also told her daughter to accompany the Wardens and assist with their efforts. Morrigan was reluctant to come along, and Alistair wasn't too excited about the prospect either. Nevertheless, the first step in a long and arduous journey had been taken. The first hurdle they were to face was Lothering.

As the band approached the village, they encountered a gang of bandits that had been preying on helpless refugees fleeing the Blight like vultures. They blockaded the highway, demanded payment that many could ill-afford in order to pass through to Lothering. Marina was so outraged, that she attacked them without even bothering to speak first. The marauders weren't expecting any trouble, thus falling quickly to a combined attack from Marina's daggers, Alistair's sword, Dronezilla's razor-sharp teeth and a superheated fireball from Morrigan. It was a slaughter, but they got what was coming to them.

Heading down into the village, Marina suppressed a gasp at the sheer amount of refugee tents right outside the village. She could see refugees begging to be let into the Chantry, but the Templar guards turned them away. Some of the villagers paced around angrily, some sat staring at the ground in despair, and many were crying in anguish. The children looked worn and pale, no doubt starving. Occasional fights broke out in the camp over scraps of food and clothing.

As they made their way through the sea of tents, Alistair spotted a merchant near the entrance to the Chantry's grounds. He was in the middle of a heated argument with a Sister from the Chantry. There were several refugees standing behind the Sister, as if backing her up. Marina decided it was worth investigating. As it turned out, the trader was charging outlandish prices for basic necessities, taking full advantage of the refugees fleeing the Darkspawn menace. The Sister was attempting to convince him to lower his prices, but the man stubbornly refused, insisting that a profit had to be made.

In Marina's eyes, he was just as bad as the highwaymen. So with barely restrained anger, she attempted to reason with the man. After refusing to back down several times, the merchant noticed that Marina's face was going red like a beetroot, the anger was literally bubbling out of her. He wisely reconsidered his stance. She was pleased that she was able to sway the trader, but there was a long way to go on the journey ahead, and somehow she suspected that greedy merchants would be the least of her concerns in the coming weeks.

The group's passage through Lothering did not go without incident. They managed to recruit two others to their cause. The first was Sten, the stoic Qunari warrior. The Qunari were a mysterious people, not native to Thedas. They came from the east, across the vast ocean, and settled on the island of Par Vollen. They threatened to consume all of Thedas with their armies, but after several Exalted Marches they were driven back to Par Vollen, the island of Seheron, and Qundalon on the cost north of Anderfels. Qunari adhered to the Qun, their philosophy, with a fierce zeal, living literally as it said they should. Sten had been imprisoned in a cage, left behind for the Darkspawn to devour. He was accused of murder. Marina managed to secure his release from the Chantry, and convinced Sten and his peculiar sense of honor to join up with the band. It was an opportunity for Sten to complete the task his Arishok had bestowed upon him, to investigate the Blight, and find atonement for the murders.

The second person they found was a Chantry Sister by the name of Leliana. Teyrn Loghain had declared the Grey Wardens as traitors and regicides, responsible for the massacre at Ostagar. His men had been lying in wait in the village's tavern. Leliana helped to repel the ambush. She claimed that the Maker sent her a vision, beseeching her to help Marina in her quest. Marina was slightly sceptical about the claims of visions, but was happy to accept the enthusiastic, red-headed Orlesian into the crew. After doing everything possible for the village, the group encountered a crowd of refugees waiting for them outside the village as they were leaving. They had heard of the bounty on the Grey Wardens' heads. Marina deeply regretted killing the poor folks, but there was no other option. Desperation had blinded the refugees; they would do anything to get some coin to feed their families, including something as foolish as attempting to kill a Grey Warden.

The departure from Lothering had one more surprise. A Dwarven merchant and his soon were being attacked by several Darkspawn on the road. It was a grim sign. If scouts were already _past _the village, it meant that the Horde would soon be upon it. The Dwarves, who introduced themselves as Bodahn and Sandal, were grateful for the rescue. They asked to travel with Marina's people for safety, in return for which they provided everyone with a discount. The group agreed that they'd come to a decision which Treaty they'd pursue first once they settled down for the night at camp.

After a much heated debate, the squad decided to go to Redcliffe first. It was the logical decision for many reasons; Redcliffe was closest out of all the destinations, and its ruler, Arl Eamon was anti-Loghain. It would be crucial to resolve the situation with Loghain as quick as possible and focus on the greater task at hand. Arl Eamon was the perfect place to start. Alistair also mentioned that he knew the Arl well, and would explain how as they neared the town. It took them roughly a day to get there, because thankfully the road yielded no surprises except a small gathering of bandits at a regularly frequented bridge, who fled at the sight of the heavily armed party, leaving their loot behind. Marina was happy to find several health poultices, as well as a wicked looking crossbow. She would try it out the next chance she got.

As everyone was about to head down into the town, Alistair tapped Marina's shoulder and gave her the promised explanation. It turned out that Alistair was a royal bastard, making the late King Cailan his half-brother. The old King Maric didn't want anyone to find out about Alistair, so instead Alistair was raised by Eamon. However, when Eamon married to Isolde, she made Alistair's life a misery. The Arlessa believed he was Eamon's bastard, which was certainly not the case. It was at this point that Alistair left Redcliffe to begin his training as a Templar. He hadn't spoken to anyone at Redcliffe since.

Their conversation cut short as they noticed the town square was in turmoil. Barricades were being set up by several men, while others were nervously glancing around for any hint of trouble. There were obvious signs of structural damage to several buildings, and all the townsfolk looked worn out and haunted. There weren't any children running around either; definitely a bad sign. Seeing as nobody approached them in the square, the group headed into Redcliffe's Chantry. There was a surprising amount of wounded people inside, as well as what seemed like all the town's children, with their mothers hovering over them protectively. Alistair pointed out that the man standing in the middle of the congregation was Bann Teagan, Arl Eamon's brother. If anyone had information, it would be him. With growing horror, Marina listened to the tale of Eamon's untimely illness, followed by stories of undead hordes rampaging through the town. Some great evil had arisen in Redcliffe Castle, and every night it made more and more progress at conquering the village. Marina vowed to do everything possible to ensure the survival of everyone in the small lakeside town.

So after hours of looking for lost relatives, helping the mayor (whose voice reminded Marina of a hunter named Zaeed she met in Highever) convincing grieving smiths to work, persuading people to fight and delivering blessings to knights, Marina was finally ready to rest and prepare her charges for the nocturnal confrontation. They would attempt to stop the horde of monsters at the windmill on the hill, before they got down to the village. Time slowed to a crawl as the sun went down that day. Everybody was on edge from nervous, in some cases undeniably terrified, anticipation.

The wait was probably one of the worst things Marina ever experienced. Then, it began. A thick, green fog, like one of Morrigan's poultices, rolled down from the top of the hill. Dark shadows and other, horrific shapes could be seen moving around in the mist. The grunts and clicks and chortles got closer and closer when all of a sudden, rotten, reeking corpses came shambling out of the haze. Some of them bore rusty old weapons, the kind you'd expect to find in some gruesome torturer's chamber, others were unarmed. After several seconds of swearing and praying to the Maker, the Redcliffe militia engaged the cadavers. Blood curdling gargles emanated from the walking dead as they were cut down by the defenders.

Many of the men began feeling glimmers of hope at the sight of the enemy's clumsiness and lack of technique. However, arrogance proved to be a weakness, as the stiffs had superior numbers, and soon some of the defenders were overwhelmed. Fine sprays of blood erupted from their torn bodies as the corpses feasted on their prizes. Limbs were chucked in all directions like the bombs Marina occasionally threw into the fray. Someone's leg, or what was left of it, managed to knock down an unfortunate archer. The beasts immediately saw the opening and lurched towards the downed woman, howling with pleasure at the sight of another victim. The poor archer was torn limb from limb, her piercing screams filling the air as the creatures devoured her alive. Marina was appalled at the horrors she was witnessing during the battle. She was determined to slay the foul creatures that were now staggering towards her with feral grins plastered on their putrid faces. She sliced up the first one that came at her, parried an attack from a second one, following up with a stab through the heart of the disoriented corpse. An arrow felled a third corpse sneaking up on Marina, and immediately after that she did a dual swipe with her daggers, lopping off the heads of two more creatures. They fell to the ground with sickly thumps, making squelching noises as they rolled around in the mud.

The militia rounded up what was left of the evil things and put them down too. The whole encounter lasted just around a minute. Roughly half the defenders where dead, however an impressive mound of the arisen was stacked near the barricades. Marina was surprised that she received no injuries, along with Morrigan and Leliana. Alistair had a few nicks on his arm, Dronezilla had a cut nose, and Sten was missing a shoulder pad, somehow yanked off in the battle. They didn't get much of a chance to rest however, as a messenger ran up from the town, reporting that the monsters had clambered ashore from the depths of Lake Calenhad and were assaulting the Chantry's barricades. Marina swore and raced down the hill.

The fight in the square wasn't too different from the skirmish on the hill in terms of casualties. The militia were surprised by the emergence of the corpses from the lake, but quickly dispatched them from the barricades. The archers and crossbowmen took care of any beats lumbering towards the positions across the fairly open expanse. Marina took this opportunity to try out her new crossbow. It performed admirably. The bolts flew true and fast, impacting their targets with loud, wet thumps and usually doing enough damage in one shot to put down the abhorrent bodies.

The onslaught lasted significantly longer than the attack on the hill. After the last stragglers were rounded up, and the wounded were taken care of, the village seemed secure. Marina and the gang entered the Chantry to rest up. They would need the energy in order to breach the castle in the morn. The guards would alert her if any more showed up. Thankfully, they weren't disturbed. Marina and company only fell asleep through sheer exhaustion. The events of the night were too gruesome to be put behind so easily (although Sten seemed like his usual stoic self, and the Mabari didn't really seem to care). Their dreams were plagued by nightmarish corpses butchering the village and everyone in it, gobbling up the children as snacks while sneering with demonic delight.

However, an all too clear vision came to Morrigan. A strange obelisk appeared in a flash of light amidst a field of crops. Some unintelligible whispers resonated with a deep bass quality from the spire. Then, all sorts of shadows began appearing around the monolith. Some did not look entirely human, or like any Thedosian race for that matter. The most chilling aspect of the vision however, was the fact that there was a shadow far larger than any of the others in the distance. In fact, Morrigan was sure it was the size of a mountain. It seemed to stop moving, after which a pulsating, deep- crimson eye appeared out of the darkness. It regarded her for a second, and then the ground began to tremble. A strange, almost mournful war horn echoed in the distance, and everything went black.

Morrigan woke with a gasp, her eyes wide with terror at what she'd experienced. Her companions were still sleeping. She decided it would be best not to trouble anyone with what she'd seen for now. As far as she was concerned, this could just be something exclusive to the Fade. If worst came to worst, it could just be some sort of new demon congregation getting ready to prey upon vulnerable mages. However Morrigan was more than confident of her abilities; she knew how to resist a demon's temptation. Flemeth taught her well. She concluded it would be in her best interests to rest up and prepare for the morning; who knows what they'd find in that blasted castle…

After taking care of the usual morning rituals, Marina and the team wasted no time in talking to Bann Teagan. He thanked them for saving the town, and Marina humbly accepted the gratitude. She was eager to take care of the undead, as she most certainly wasn't happy with last night. Despite the victory, people still died, and nothing would ease the burden Marina bore. She wished she got here earlier so she could've saved more people. Teagan explained there was a secret passage in the town's mill that led to the castle dungeons. He offered to go with them. Marina was reluctant to put another life at risk, but she knew her people would be outnumbered in the oncoming close quarter situation; they'd need all the help they could get to survive.

However, when they reached the mill, Lady Isolde, who was supposed to be still in the castle, ran up to them. She tried to explain between ragged breaths, something about her son Connor wanting to see his Uncle Teagan, which was why the great evil allowed her to leave the castle. It was obvious she wasn't telling the whole story, but Teagan agreed to go with her before Marina could voice her suspicions. He discreetly handed her his signet ring, the key to unlocking the secret passage in the mill before leaving.

After making their way through the passage they found themselves in the castle dungeon. A mage was locked up in one of the cells. He said his name was Jowan, and that he was hired to tutor the Arl's son, who recently revealed magical talents of his own. However, he had another purpose at the castle. Teyrn Loghain hired him to poison Eamon, who was becoming a serious thorn in Loghain's side. He succeeded in his task, and the Arl was deathly ill now. The boy foolishly used his magical talents to barter with a desire demon to cure his father. Of course, the demon tricked the poor child and took hold of his body. She'd summoned the corpses to conquer the village, and satisfy her other typical demonic necessities that generally involved killing people. Jowan was most certainly at fault, and Marina was seriously tempted to behead him there and then. However, she realised he could be useful later and opted to keep him locked in the cell for the moment.

Fighting the fiends turned out to be far worse in the confines of the castle's rooms and hallways, as everyone predicted. Nobody escaped without injury. They even had to face a Revenant in the castle courtyard. The Revenant was a type of demon wearing impressive battle armor and wielding a huge longsword. Revenants also liked to occasionally stick their swords in the ground and cast spells, which usually resulted in an unlucky person being pulled towards the monster to be cut down by its blade. The Revenant in the courtyard managed to snag Leliana with a spell, sending her flying into a group of animated skeletons. He also managed to wound Dronezilla and Sten, who both attempted to rush him only to be met with his blade. Leliana was unconscious from a concussion and severe trauma to her body from being stomped on by the skeletons, Dronezilla had deep cuts in his hide and appeared to be limping, and Sten was sitting down clutching his stomach. They wouldn't be going anywhere until they received serious medical attention or healing. Marina, Alistair and Morrigan attempted to apply injury kits and help them swallow some health draughts, but it could only do so much. The courtyard seemed secure, so the decision was made to let them stay there. If worst came to worst, Sten assured the Warden he would still be able to put up a good fight.

The persisting trio entered the main hall with a sense of dread. However, a most unexpected sight greeted them. Bann Teagan was dancing in front of Connor, and Isolde stood beside him looking as if she was about to cry. Then Connor, or rather the demon, spoke. The twisted demonic voice was unsettling coming from the little boy. The demon boasted about how it took over Connor, and what it was planning to do in the future. Marina was shaking with barely restrained anger. How could such a monstrosity possess an innocent young boy who was only trying to help his sick father? It wasn't right. It was appalling, despicable, disgusting and revolting. Marina finally understood why abominations were called such. They twisted people into horrible, repulsive brutes that embodied everything that was flawed in mankind.

The demon finally became tired of the charade, and set his human thralls upon the three of them while it ran away upstairs. Marina warned everyone to go for non-lethal takedowns; these were good men being used by the beast against their own will. It was over rather quickly and once again Marina and Alistair acquired a new set of dents in their armor and gashes in their skin. Only Morrigan was unharmed.

It was time to discuss options. The mage was brought up from the dungeons. He was interrogated on how to save the boy. Jowan told them that it could only be destroyed by physically killing Connor, or performing a human sacrifice to send a mage into the Fade to kill the demon at its source. Both were horrific options; Marina was hesitant to make the choice. Lady Isolde offered to sacrifice herself for her son, but there was a chance Jowan might renege on the deal and the sacrifice would be for naught. Either way, someone had to die. Marina wasn't prepared to kill a child, and Alistair likewise objected. But committing Isolde to a blood magic ritual was also questionable. Nobody should have to make these kinds of choices. There wasn't much time left though; with every passing second Eamon withered away and the demon recovered its strength.

With great trouble and distress, Marina said she'd go out on a limb and trust Jowan. Connor had a full life yet to live, and there was no way she was going to put down a child, possessed or not. Morrigan was nominated to go forth into the Fade. Jowan hastily prepared the ritual and began casting. Isolde trembled with pain before falling to the ground in a pool of blood. Morrigan also fell to the ground unconscious, and soon emerged victorious from the Fade. Marina was still livid with Jowan, but he proved to be trustworthy. Marina allowed him to live, but in the confines of his cell until Eamon was saved, or died.

Thankfully the child remembered nothing of the torments, and yet Eamon was still ill. There was no antidote for the poison Jowan fed him. The only thing that could help was the fabled Urn of Sacred Ashes. Marina heard mentions of the artefact several times during the group's travels. She would head to Denerim to visit a Chantry scholar named Brother Genetivi, who was rumoured to be looking for the Urn too, but not before stopping by the Circle Tower to ensure the Mages played their part in the treaty…

* * *

Marina was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion as she finished reminiscing over recent events. The world was remarkably cruel, and it was painfully difficult to make a difference. She never ever felt as helpless as this. But, she was able to do small things. A traveller they met that evening as they settled for camp informed them that something strange was happening in a small village north east of Lothering.

A spire, possibly demonic in origin, appeared in a field that belonged to a local farmer. The man who told the story said he'd fled as soon as it happened, so there wasn't too much information to go on. However, Marina would never allow another Redcliffe to occur, or anything remotely close. The village was a detour they could afford.

After hours of thinking in solitude, Marina finally broke down and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

_A/N: Wow, this chapter was extremely painful to write. I apologise if there's any mistakes. I will try to release a new chapter every week. As usual, reviews are greatly appreciated!_

_BioWare owns ME and DA._


	4. The Farmhouse

**A Small Village North-East of Lothering**

It was beautiful, yet terrible. A torrent of dark energy cascaded out from Rick's fist and struck the Templars. They were picked up and tossed like toys across the field, bouncing along the muck, bones shattering at every impact. Their screams didn't last very long as they finally succumbed to the Fade's embrace. Their bodies were strewn about, limbs twisted at impossible angles. Their skin began to swell and turn purple, like an overripe plum.

Luckily, the farmer Ronald was standing far enough that the force only knocked him on his ass. As he scrambled on his feet, he noticed the abomination standing there. It was glowing blue, the same blue as the magic that had killed the Templars. He couldn't read its face too well, twisted as it was, but was that… shock? It didn't matter. He was going to make it pay for defiling his land, even if he died in the attempt. Ronald hoisted the pitchfork into a better grip and charged the thing.

Rick couldn't believe his eyes. He'd just used biotics on these so called Templar knights. There was simply no way it was possible. Human biotics were extremely rare, and in all cases the talent developed in utero. Rick wasn't born with biotics, nor was he ever exposed to element zero, the cause of biotics.

There was only one explanation; one that he feared would become more frequently used for everything out of the ordinary. The Reapers. Their tech had meddled with his appearance and his voice, and now his natural abilities. What other surprises were in store? He didn't have time to think further as he suddenly noticed an angry peasant charging him. Rick dodged the incoming pitchfork and knocked it out of the man's hands with an uncanny speed. The farmer was about to try attack him with his fists but Rick didn't give him the chance; delivering a solid punch to the fool's solar plexus, knocking all the breath out of him.

Rick dragged the man by his collar as he gasped for breath, hungry lungs trying to inhale as much air as possible.

"Now, let's go somewhere private, and you tell me what the **hell **is going on here!" Rick ordered, still in his intimidating Reaper voice.

* * *

Ronald whimpered and pointed to the farmhouse. There was no way he was getting out of this. The abomination had outsmarted him. It was only pretending to be shocked, luring him into a trap. He easily fell into it, the fool that he was. Maybe staying back to defend the village against the inevitable Darkspawn onslaught was a terrible idea after all. The Darkspawn might be stupid, but their numbers and sheer strength were far more troublesome than a lone abomination. Ronald wouldn't last two seconds.

He knew as soon as they entered the house, the foul demon would likely interrogate him about the Templars, torture him for pleasure and then eat him alive. Maybe not even in that order. Hence, it was surprising when the thing dragged him into the main room and threw him down onto the wolf pelt rug, and began to pace anxiously for several seconds before speaking.

"Look, I don't want to harm you, I can see that you're just an ordinary man. So please, tell me what's going on? Who are these Templars? And where is the other thing that appeared? I know I saw an imprint in that mud…" Rick exclaimed as he took in the room.

There was a fireplace in the far wall, with some neat logs stacked inside it. The mantle above it had a number of interesting carved pieces on display. One was of a woman, and another was of some sort of animal. At the other side of the room there was a dark wooden table, and around it several chairs made from the same material, looking fairly uncomfortable. A wheel of golden cheese was on a wooden platter, as well as a stone jug of milk and something that looked like a horn of mead. The walls of the house were a cracked, fading grey brick. Apart from that, there was nothing really interesting about the room. As he turned back to the food, Rick realised just how hungry he was. Before he could take a bite, the farmer spoke up.

"How is it that you know nothing of the mortal world? Surely you demons know its every detail with your continuous plotting to dominate it? And you don't know what the Templars are? Pfft, I almost feel sorry for an abomination like you!" Ronald didn't really know what he was doing, but it seemed like he could use the demon's confusion against it.

"Still with that bullshit? Are you people actually stupid enough to believe in demons, magic, gods and all that nonsense? You know what, I don't even wanna hear your reply. I'm just gonna tie you up, and put you in a dark little room until I get enough sleep."

It was true. Rick was feeling very tired as well as hungry. Once again, he picked up the farmer and dragged him into the corridor while he protested. There was a door that looked as if it would lead to a storage closet or something. He opened it to reveal a creaky set of stairs leading down to a dusty old basement. There were cobwebs on the walls, and the filth formed an impressive layer on all surfaces inside. He frisked the farmer before pushing him down the steps. Rick found a set of rusty keys on the farmer. He tried a few on the basement door and eventually succeeded in locking it. Next, he sealed the front door as well as the one at the back.

_Don't want no more yokels turning up to lynch me…_

The stairs that led up to the second floor groaned under Rick's weight, but fortunately they weren't as dilapidated as the basement steps. Rick explored the upper floor, finding several bedrooms, but no bathroom. Looking out one of the windows, he spotted what seemed like an outhouse in the back.

_Ugh wonderful…_

However, he was too tired to investigate further, and instead collapsed on the nearest bed. It wasn't exactly comfortable; the mattress was thin and the blankets weren't terribly warm, but Rick quickly fell asleep anyway.

* * *

He found himself standing outside of the farmhouse. But he knew it was a dream. For one, those floating islands were still around, the haze was present, and everything about the house looked odd. Which meant that Rick's Reaper buddy was around somewhere…

As if on cue, the air began shimmering nearby, and formed a shifting dark blue-green portal. But instead of finding himself facing the familiar hologram of the Reaper, several wicked looking creatures emerged from the portal. One resembled an oversized snake covered in lava, but with arms. Another looked like something Rick would've seen in a nude bar, except she had large twisted horns, serrated teeth and floated slightly off the ground. The last one was very large, probably the size of a sky car standing on its nose, with dark scaled skin and multiple glowing eyes. The creatures regarded Rick for a moment, and then began circling and hissing, but otherwise making no attempts to get closer.

After about 30 seconds the air began shimmering again, but this time it revealed the projection of the Reaper. Seeing this, the creatures outright ran and fled through their own portal, which promptly sealed itself behind them.

"See how the vermin of this world flee, they are terrified to lay their hands upon thee," proclaimed the Reaper.

"Again with your bullshit rhymes! Can't you tell me what's going on here? Why are all these dreams happening? I've only gotten around FIVE lucid dreams in my ENTIRE life, and now I get pretty much TWO in the space of less than a day?! Not to mention these things looked like they could REALLY do some harm! And how am I supposed to travel in a place like this, looking as I do?!"

Rick was once again extremely confused and angry. He was about to spill even more frustrations upon the Reaper when it interrupted him.

"Communication is strenuous at best, so I will explain what is necessary during your rest. While you wail about your concerns and despair, your body the nanites shall repair. The artefacts require liberation, and so the path will be revealed through your mind's sensation," it announced in its usual manner.

"Those are not answers. I-"

"The Guardians' party approaches your location; you must begin the necessary preparation," it interrupted and immediately disappeared.

Rick stood alone once again in his dream. This particular encounter raised even more questions. What the hell is this place? Why did the Reaper refer to the beasts as if they were real? What further "enhancements" will the nanites deliver? What artefacts? What sensation? And who are these Guardians, and why should he be afraid of them? It was crazy, none of it made any sense.

Rick's dream slowly faded away, and he finally got a few hours of silent sleep.

* * *

A cockerel's call woke him up at sunrise. He wanted to stay in bed a bit longer, but knew whoever or whatever these "Guardians" were, they would mean trouble. Rick got up with a groan and stretched, taking in the sunlight lazily streaming in through the window.

_Wait… something's not right…_

Rick was sure something was out of place. He tried to recall what he saw in the past few minutes, but to no avail. There was nothing suspicious he could remember. He ran his hands through his hair out of frustration and let them flop down.

_Wait! That's exactly it! My hands!_

He looked at them again, and sure enough, the Reaper tech wasn't anywhere near as pronounced as yesterday. The previously bright shine of the lights on the tubes was reduced to a dull glow. The tubes themselves were slowly being concealed by Rick's skin, which was regaining its usual look and was no longer transparent. The thin wires had vanished altogether. He said a few words, testing if his voice was back to normal. It was.

_Damn! This is what the Reaper meant during my dream! This Reaper tech was probably the only thing that kept me alive during the transition…_

It was interesting to think about, but it was time to get back to the task at hand.

First thing to do would be to eat, wash and prepare a backpack for travel. Interrogating the farmer could wait. While it certainly was important to find out as much as possible about the area, it would all be in vain if Rick was unprepared for an unexpected visit from the Guardians. Keeping that in mind, Rick hurried downstairs into the kitchen to prepare some breakfast.

There weren't any normal appliances around that Rick was used to. This meant that the food would have to be in cupboards, or a souterrain. He rummaged around in the presses, finding a bottle of milk, some wrapped seasoned meat, and some sort of stew in a pot. He remembered the cheese and the bread in the main hall, and fetched them too.

Rick spent the next hour or two cooking everything clumsily over the fire, and stuffing it into a leather pack he found lying in one of the rooms. He ate some of the mystery stew for breakfast, which turned out to be quite nice when heated up. It couldn't really compare to the various foods Rick could buy at home, but was still delicious.

Now it was time to get clean. Rick looked through the bedrooms' closets for any decent clothing, settling on a silk shirt (_how did a farmer get this?_), some woollen trousers and a pair of woollen socks. His own clothes would need to be washed; his shirt and trousers were covered in mud, and he didn't feel like wearing the same pair of socks again.

There seemed to be only one source of water around, and that was the well outside (he used all the water in the kitchen for cooking). Rick spotted several cast iron pots beside it. He figured he'd have to heat them over a fire, and pour them into a tub. But where was the tub?

Rick snooped around outside, careful not to get spotted by anyone that could be passing near the farmer's house. He found the tub sitting in the shed. It was a big dusty metal thing that was quite heavy.

_Huh. These people must only take a bath once a month or something. Or else they just dump buckets on themselves instead of bothering to fill tubs…_

It took a while to heat up the pots. While they boiled over the fire, Rick washed his clothes by hand and hung them up to dry. Wasn't the same as using a washing machine, but in the end it would be worth it anyway.

The pots were finally ready, and so Rick prepared the bath. He stripped and gingerly lowered himself in. The water in the tub was nice and warm, pleasantly relaxing. He scrubbed himself with a brush, and decided to lie in the tub until the water cooled. He suspected he wouldn't get any such luxury for a long time, so it was best to savour it while it lasted.

* * *

His respite was interrupted by a knock on the door. He quickly scrambled out of the tub, dried himself and put on the newly commandeered clothes.

_Shit! I got no weapon! But if I don't answer, they'll probably force their way inside... Better to imitate this Ronald guy…_

Rick mumbled a "hello who's there," hoping it seemed sleepy enough that the people at the door wouldn't recognise he wasn't who he was pretending to be.

"Ron! Get out 'ere! Time to get up ye lazy bollocks ye!" shouted a rough voice through the door.

"Eh, give me a few minutes, I'm not ready yet," Rick did his best to muffle his voice and make it seem very tired.

"Well ye'll be missin' out on all the fun, y'see! I 'ear some o' them Grey Wardens are out 'n' about in town! Ol' Terrence at the mill says they 'ave some mighty fine lookin' gals wit 'em!" cackled the man.

"I'll be along when I'm ready."

"Bah! There's no convincin' ye is there? Lazy ol' sod!" the man laughed. Rick heard his footsteps padding away from the house.

He exhaled a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. The guy at the door was probably one of Ronald's drinking buddies or something. If it came down to it, Rick very likely would've taken him. But if it was one of those Templars… Well, that would've been a whole different story. Rick wasn't sure he'd be able to dish out such impressive biotic displays every day. He needed to conserve his strength, and find an actual weapon.

But first, he'd need to bring the farmer along. As Rick walked to the basement door, a horrible thought dawned upon him. The man at the door said there were Wardens or some such around town. Warden had pretty much the same meaning as Guardian, so maybe it was this that the Reaper was referring to? This made Rick's escape even more urgent.

Time was ticking away. People would find the mangled Templar corpses in the field sooner or later. The town was clearly awake already, so concealing them now wasn't an option. And if the Wardens were in any way associated with the Templars, they'd make sure to hunt Rick down. The Reaper's predictions were coming true.

But that raised an even more frightening question. Was this just a sick experiment the Reapers were performing on him, studying a modern human's reactions to an unfamiliar world? Was the Reaper in the dreams testing Rick with riddles and strange clues to see if he was worthy enough to survive the challenges they threw at him? Maybe he was still bound to the machine in the park, with all those ghastly creatures leering at him? Or was he really here? Were the Reapers helping him because they were confused too? Did any medieval human worlds actually exist in the late 22nd century?

Was he in control, or was he being controlled…

* * *

_A/N: I'm sorry that took a while to get out, was very busy. I'll do my best to get another update out around this time next week. I appreciate all the reviews left behind, they REALLY help with the motivation to write this stuff, so thanks!__ Also, as suggested, I fixed up the paragraphs a little in the previous chapter.  
'Til next week!  
_

_BioWare owns ME and DA  
_


	5. Pursuit

The journey to the small village wasn't easy. Marina's group encountered all sorts of trouble along the road. Darkspawn raiding parties scoured the lands, and opportunistic brigands preyed upon refugees fleeing for their lives. The encounters had slowed their journey down considerably. They even had to wade through the forest at one stage to avoid a large Darkspawn encampment along the path. Everyone was cranky from having to do extra guard duty when they made camp, so their moods were extremely pessimistic entering the town.

The fact that the villagers gathered around the band and gazed at them like a prize turkey didn't really make anyone feel any better. Marina was ready to reach for her daggers, but then an old man, likely a village elder, stepped out of the crowd and approached them.

"What is your business here? You're all fairly well armed, so I take it you're not refugees," his voice wasn't as rough as Marina expected; meaning that he likely spent some time around nobility.

"We heard there was a disturbance in this village, possibly demonic in origin. I know the Templars are likely here already, but we'd like to investigate anyway," she replied.

"And who are you to have any authority in investigating such matters, if you don't mind me asking?"

Nothing was getting past the old geezer. Better to tell the truth Marina figured. She looked around at her companions, receiving worried looks in return. They knew what she was about to say. Likewise, Marina knew exactly what was going through their heads at the moment. They were praying that these villagers wouldn't decide to act on the bounty placed on the heads of the Wardens. If they did, the town would turn into a bloodbath, just like when Marina left Lothering…

"We are Grey Wardens ser, and we're here to help," she uttered cautiously.

The man looked genuinely surprised, and the crowd stood silent. After an awkward silence that seemed to last for an eternity, the crowd suddenly erupted in a huge cheer. It was at this point that Marina realised the crowd's earlier hungry look wasn't a desire to acquire a bounty, but rather to find some sort of defence against the Blight.

The elder laughed and said something unintelligible, after which he beckoned them to the local tavern. Alistair's face lit up, and everyone else seemed more or less happy. Marina thought she even witnessed a flicker of a smile on Sten's face. But that was probably just her imagination. The crowd cheered on as they were led to the pub. Marina thought it was quite peculiar how none of them seemed to care about Loghain's claims of the Wardens' treachery, but as the saying goes, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

They were fed a hearty meal by the tavern's owner, free of charge. Marina insisted to pay him for preparing such a tremendous meal, but he stubbornly refused. After their bellies were full, Marina decided to ask the elder a few questions. He didn't know much about the happenings in the field, but said that the Templars took care of everything. Likewise, the owner of the field, a man by the name of Ronald, would probably have some extra details.

The elder also mentioned that Ronald had sent for the remnant of the Templars (the investigation force from the Circle Tower left a few of their ranks behind just in case) the previous day, but no-one had seen them since. Marina knew exactly where to start.

After wrapping up the meal and saying their thank-yous, the party left the tavern and began to make their way to the fields at the other end of the village where Ronald's farm was. Seeing as they arrived in the village somewhat late in the morning and spent only an hour and a bit in the tavern, it was still very bright outside. They had plenty of time left to poke around the town.

As they rounded the corner of one of the houses on the outskirts, they got a view of Ronald's farm. There was an ordinary looking stone house and a rickety old barn on the premises. The fields stretched on for miles in front of them; there was no telling where the things could've appeared.

Marina noticed a young man exiting the house and taking off in the other direction at a brisk pace. He turned around for a second and squinted at the sun, barring his teeth. Nothing unusual, or so it seemed…

The man was wearing what appeared to be a silk shirt and woollen trousers. The silk shirt was a little unusual for a farmer, but it wasn't what grabbed Marina's attention. He was wearing strange black boots that didn't fit in with the rest of his clothing, and was shouldering a large pack. Likewise, when he turned to look at the sun, Marina saw that he had perfectly white teeth. The only people Marina knew of who could keep their teeth so white were mages. Everyone's teeth rotted, even those belonging to nobility (unless they hired a mage to keep them clean of course). Suddenly everything was starting to make sense.

"Hey umm… guys? Why don't you all go check the house out? I'm going to take Leliana with me and tail that man. Something seems off about him," Marina said.

"Always keeping me away from the interesting stuff, hmm?" Morrigan exclaimed.

"Look, I know this isn't very interesting for any of you, but you might just find something in that house. The whole lot of us clanking and wheezing after that man won't be very subtle, don't you think?"

Everyone harrumphed in return and grudgingly accepted. However, Dronezilla let out a pitiful whine and started giving Marina the puppy eyes.

"Awww ok you can come along too. But no chasing after alley cats, ok? We need to keep a close eye on that fella! Now let's be off before we lose sight of him!"

* * *

The situation was rapidly going out of control. The farmer was behaving quite well up until Rick asked him what a Grey Warden was, seeing as several were supposedly in town right now. The farmer's calm attitude immediately vanished at those words and was replaced by the same zealous stubbornness from the previous night.

He wouldn't listen to anything Rick tried to say and chanted loudly about how the demonic scum was going to meet its end at the hands of the Wardens. Ronald was causing a serious ruckus. Rick was sure that his shouting could be heard out in the street, and the noise of the chair Ronald was restrained to hitting off furniture was bound to attract attention too.

Normally, unruly individuals were something Rick was accustomed to, but this wasn't work, nor was it Trident. Back home, he had a whole team to back him up, not to mention he was usually in the right. Over here however, the accusation of being a demon was probably enough to get him lynched by a mob, and there was no sign of any proper lawmen.

That left only one solution. One that Rick hadn't considered lightly. The farmer had to die. He'd been an enormous nuisance right from the start. If Rick left him alive, he'd sell his description to these Wardens as soon as possible. Likewise, taking him along for the trip was out of the question. He'd attempt to blow Rick's cover every chance he got. The man also had no immediate family in the village, so Rick doubted many would miss him.

Keeping these justifications in mind, Rick walked up behind the still shouting farmer, and snapped his neck. A quick death. Now it was time to hide him somewhere so the inquisitive minds that would eventually come prowling around wouldn't find the body straight away.

Rick chose a large closet in the main bedroom. The still warm body fit in nicely, sitting securely in place. Heading downstairs again, Rick double checked his gear, grabbed a final snack, and shouldered his pack. It was time to leave this town for good.

The sun was unusually bright outside, causing Rick to squint and grit his teeth. There seemed to be a large group of people coming his way, but he couldn't make out what they were wearing thanks to the sun. Thinking nothing of it, he began walking to the nearest exit from the village.

_Now, what was it that that Reaper said? Something about something in the mind? Hell I don't even remember. Better to just focus on a way to find my belongings…_

_Belongings…_

_Duffle Bag…_

_Reaper creatures…_

_Artifact…_

The specific train of thought triggered some sort of hidden mechanism in Rick's brain. As soon as he thought of the artefact, a strange buzzing sensation began making itself known. It seemed to be coming from a fixed location; the North West.

_Of course! It makes sense now! The Reaper said I needed to find the artifact, and the only way I'd do it would be through "the mind's sensation!" _

Rick was deep in thought making his way out of town, failing to notice the two women and a large dog tailing him.

* * *

"Looks like this mage is a fresh escapee from the Circle," Marina looked to Leliana "He's clearly too naïve to imagine that he'd be recognised for what he is in such a rundown village."

"Well in that case, I propose to covertly overtake him and pretend to be damsels in distress on the road ahead. He'll have no choice but to rescue us from the ferocious Mabari hound nipping at our heels!" laughed Leliana in her musical Orlesian accent.

Marina smiled knowingly, and Dronezilla let out a happy bark. He'd enjoy playing a spot of chasing.

* * *

Rick was still mulling over recent events when he noticed a disturbance a ways up the path. A huge dog, probably the size of a varren, was chasing two young women who were screaming for help. Rick was just about to run over and rescue them somehow when his paranoia crept back. What if this was a trap?

While the women looked genuinely terrified, the dog was another story. It was clear that it was playing with them. If the creature was anything like a varren or any sort of wild dog, it would be lightning fast and completely merciless. Rick had seen varren in action before, and it wasn't pretty. The fact that it was "preying" on them in broad daylight was also suspicious, and oh so conveniently when Rick was leaving town.

_It's a trap, has to be. These girls are gonna circle around and then the three of them will jump me from all sides… Fuck!_

He had to come up with something before they got any closer.

* * *

As Marina and Leliana ran towards the man screaming their heads off with Dronezilla in hot pursuit, they noticed him slow his pace as he evaluated the situation.

_Yes that's it! He's going to take the bait and rescue us! _

But then something completely unexpected happened. He came to a full stop.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH IT'S A WOLF! HEEEEEEEEEELP!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs and shot off into the treeline.

The trio were utterly dumbstruck by the pathetic act of cowardice. They fully expected the guy to gallop to their rescue; surely he couldn't resist two pretty women at the same time. Then they burst out laughing.

"Wow! I can't believe our performance was THAT good!" Marina gasped for breath. "Oh Maker, we probably gave him a heart attack!"

"What a fool!" Leliana giggled.

They collected themselves and headed into the woods to find him. They didn't have to walk for long, because the man was poorly hid behind a boulder, his pack sticking out. They could hear him whimpering.

"Hello ser… are you alright?" Marina asked cautiously.

"Is it gone? Is the wolf gone?" a trembling voice queried.

"Oh it wasn't a wolf. You see my sister and I were just practising some acting with our Mabari hound. We're both hoping to become bards and storytellers ser."

"Oh so that's how it is then? Your _acting_ nearly gave me a seizure! You need to be more considerate of others!" the man spat with venom in his voice.

He picked himself up off the ground, dusted down his clothes and was about to angrily make his way over to them when he tripped on a log. It looked like he was going to plow head-first into the ground, so Marina edged forward in order to catch him.

Leliana was too late to notice the man's hand going for the dagger Marina had tucked in her clothing. Rick pulled the knife out while simultaneously twisting Marina around. He then held her firmly with one arm and held the knife to her throat with the other.

"Do you really think I didn't see through your little game?" he hissed in her ear.

"Why don't you put the dagger down and we can discuss this in a civilized manner, yes?" said Leliana.

"You're just bullshitting, your mind is already made up. You have no intention of letting me go, or indeed, hearing my story. So make one wrong move, and I slice her throat!"

Leliana folded her arms and remained suspiciously silent. A smirk crept up onto her face, which Rick found quite unnerving. It was possible she was one of these so called mages, and would fling him into the air when he least suspected.

However, that didn't happen. Instead, Rick felt a sharp impact on the back of his head, and immediately collapsed onto the ground unconscious.

Marina turned around to see Morrigan standing over him, brandishing her stick like a club.

"And here I thought you'd be pleased to see me, saving you from the evil apostate! How silly of me to arrive when I did!" she said sarcastically.

"Thank you Morrigan. However, if you don't mind me asking, why are you here? I thought I asked everyone else to investigate the house? Again, not that I'm ungrateful of course."

"'Twas a hunch, and thus I decided to act upon it. Looks like it was most certainly worthwhile!"

It was only a half-truth. Morrigan wasn't ready to tell the Warden the full story. As they neared the farmhouse earlier that day, a strange whispering appeared in Morrigan's mind and seemed to intensify the closer they got. She was surprised nobody else could hear it, and hence decided to keep it to herself. It was even more shocking to find out that the whispers were radiating from the stranger rather than the house, so she made her excuses to the rest of the party, and tailed the tail.

"Alright Morrigan, thanks again for the rescue. Now would you mind tying this fella up? I have a feeling he's going to do his utmost best to escape when he regains consciousness," Marina stated, "Let's take him back to camp and rest until the morning. Then we can talk."

Tomorrow would bring answers. For everyone.

* * *

_A/N: And so Reaper meets Warden. What will the interrogation yield in the morning? Stay tuned and find out next week (hopefully :P)! _

_As usual, all reviews are appreciated!_

_BioWare own ME and DA.  
_


	6. A Little Chat

**A camp somewhere outside the village**

Rick woke up only to find his hands and legs bound by chains. They were rusty, clunky old iron things that linked up to loop through a hoop-peg thing stuck into a big rock lying on the ground. He was obviously in some sort of tent. There was a low stool in a corner with a wooden tray lying on top of it. Apart from that, there was nothing else in the tent.

He assumed that it was the Wardens who captured him. He remembered running through the forest, hiding badly behind the rock on purpose, and then surprising the girl and putting a knife to her throat. But then everything was just black. The only logical conclusion was that they had a third person helping them, not counting the dog.

The tent suddenly shook with a gust of powerful wind, and the entrance flaps flailed wildly in the wind. Rick caught a sight of a pair of enormous legs standing to the side, clad in what appeared to be plate armor. So they had guards, they weren't complete fools. But the real question was if this was the person that got the jump on Rick, or was there more of them?

The fact that Rick didn't know their exact numbers would play against him in any escape attempt. Assuming he could silently break free of his bindings and silence the guard outside, what then? There could be a whole dozen of them patrolling the area, or hiding out of sight. What if Rick found the trio that he'd encountered earlier, along with the dog, and pacified them, only to get ambushed by everyone else?

His body was still recovering, and the nanites were recharging after keeping Rick alive coming into this world _and_ repairing him after. That, coupled with the massive biotic display against the Templars, was what probably led to him being taken out so easy. And he would likely go down in the same fashion now. The fierce hunger gnawing at Rick's stomach certainly wouldn't make things better either.

The only thing to do was wait to get fed, and hopefully see more of his captors so that'd he be able to gain a more accurate estimate on their numbers and abilities.

He didn't have to wait long. The girl he held hostage in the woods came into the tent bearing a plate with a loaf of bread and a chunk of cheese sitting on it. She set the plate on the tray, which she then put down on the floor beside her in order to be able to sit down on the stool. As they stared at each other for several seconds, Rick couldn't help but notice how attractive she was. She had a perfect figure, with large breasts and nice hips, dirty blond hair tied back in a pony-tail, piercing blue eyes and luscious lips. Not like it mattered though, because in the end one of them would die by the other's hand.

To Rick's surprise, she began grinning madly at him, showing off a set of pearlescent white teeth. That was odd, because people living in medieval times didn't have toothpaste. They should all have rotten teeth. Rick double checked his surroundings, and the clothes the woman was wearing. Nothing out of the ordinary for this place; leather armor and leather boots. The tent was still the same, no trickery involved.

"Surprised are you?" she asked with a laugh, noticing the confusion on his face. "Surely you didn't think you're the only mage out and about who knows how to fix up teeth!"

"Huh? You're a mage?"

"No, I asked a friend to make my teeth like yours. You mages are very smart, coming up with ideas like this. Oh, and my name is Marina Cousland by the way, I'm a Grey Warden."

"Ok, let's get this crystal clear, I am **not** a mage. I don't know why all of you backwards primitives keep saying so, but it ain't true."

She looked at him coldly for a second before asking "Aren't you going to tell me your name? Maybe I'll give you some of this food if you talk about yourself…"

"Nope, not gonna happen. You gotta answer some of my questions first before I tell you anything."

Marina's relatively calm look was replaced by bewilderment and outrage. "You appear out of nowhere in a field, butcher _three_ Templars with either immense strength or magic, murder an innocent farmer and put a knife to my throat _only a few days _after an object from the Fade manifested in the exact spot you did! And now you have the balls to make demands and negotiate?!"

She stood up and booted Rick in the face, sending him sprawling onto his back. Some blood trickled out of his nose and dripped onto his shirt. After a few seconds Rick managed to prop himself back up again.

"Listen here you dumb bitch! I appear here, not having a fucking clue what's going on. I am hunted almost immediately by a bunch of men for no reason, my body is… very different from what it used to be, and I can't even begin to guess where home is. Furthermore, all my belongings are missing, I'm having crazy dreams, and I hear all this talk about mages, demons, abominations, and a dozen other things I'm completely unfamiliar with. How the **fuck** do you think I feel? I need answers, **now**!" he fumed.

"You expect me to believe that demon? I've heard stories about your kind tricking mages into serving you, but I'm completely unimpressed. The mage you possessed is either remarkably weak willed, or just very very stupid," she retorted.

"Look, if you're gonna keep talking nonsense, leave that food there and get the fuck outta my tent!"

"Morrigan!" she called, and a dark haired woman entered the tent. Her upper body was scantily clad in maroon strips of cloth, dark trousers, a plume of feathers on her shoulder and a big stick on her back. There was a very different look in her dark eyes; it was clear that she was quite different from Marina.

"Well well, would you look at this! It appears you've been treating our prisoner with the best of care! I'm sure he was extremely cooperative!" she exclaimed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Rick could've sworn she sounded like Aeryn Sun, a character from a very old human TV show he once watched. Well if she was anything like Ms Sun, she'd hopefully turn on these Wardens and help the prisoner.

* * *

Morrigan barely resisted the urge to flinch as she entered the prisoner's tent. The whispers seemed to flow out of the man like water through a broken dam. They spoke of nothing in particular, forming disjointed, incomprehensible phrases that made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Yet she felt drawn to them. Despite the fact that they had no meaning, there was a faint, underlying tone which implied desperation.

The man was clearly a foreigner; Morrigan had neither seen nor heard of mages like him. His connection to the Fade was very different from everyone else upon inspection. He used what appeared to be a Mind Blast spell on the Templars in the field, but his staff was nowhere to be found. There was no way he could do what he did without a staff amplifying his powers, and yet here he was.

In fact, the sleep spell she cast on him when she knocked him out should've kept him asleep for hours longer. It gave the impression that as well as being a powerful mage, he was also extremely resistant to magic of others. Morrigan doubted she could keep him sleeping for as long again. There was no sign of demonic possession on him, apart from the mysterious whispers, so what he did must've been for a good reason.

It was time to be clear and present all the facts to the man, something Morrigan didn't do very often. But, she was the group's only mage, and the chances of him talking with her were significantly higher than with the others.

"I'll leave him to you," said Marina as she walked out of the tent.

Rick heard someone giggle and say "I wonder if the witch will turn him into a toad!" outside the tent. It was a man's voice, meaning there was another person around who he'd have to deal with. The numbers were currently stacking up against him, but if he could persuade the dark-haired girl to feed him, maybe he'd be able to use biotics to escape…

"Looks like your little conversation with our wonderful Warden went better than expected. 'Tis fortunate she left here without being eaten!"

"Not sure whether you're implying that I'm simply hungry or if it's more of that demon nonsense, but I could certainly use the food," Rick replied.

Morrigan handed him the tray. She watched as he dug in ravenously into the bread and cheese, finishing it all in a blur. Sensing what he was about to say, she handed him her water flask. He slurped it down greedily and handed the flask back.

"You see, I'm not so bad am I? Unlike the big bad Warden and her pet dog Alistair, I look after other mages!" she exclaimed.

"Again with the mage nonsense?" he sighed. "And that oversized dog's name is Alistair?"

"Oh dear no, Alistair is the fool you heard bumbling about toads a few moments ago," she laughed. "He's actually been a Warden longer than Marina, yet he shirks away from his duty as Senior Warden. 'Tis pathetic, but then again, he _is_ an utter idiot."

"Ok, but you still haven't answered why everyone here thinks I'm a mage? And what the hell is a Grey Warden anyway?"

"You're really not from here, are you? The people of your land must be terribly ignorant not to realise a mage walks amongst them, but that is likely a good thing too; no Templars."

"Ignorant eh? You think I'm ignorant? You live in your own stupid little world, and you know **nothing **of the universe out there! I may be lacking in information regarding your planet, but trust me, whatever things you think you know are **insignificant **comparedto the galaxy at large!" Rick was absolutely sick of it.

"My oh my, looks like I definitely hit a nerve there. Nonetheless however, I shall humor you with this… insignificant knowledge," Morrigan replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Finally, indulge me!"

"Very well, I shall begin with the topic that seems to bother you the most then. In order to qualify to be a mage, one must be an Elf, a Human or a Qunari to connect with the Fade. The Fade is where magic originates from. However, such individuals are few and far between. Most mages are recognised at an early age and are taken away to _train _in the Circle. In fact, mages who reside outside the Circle are branded apostates, illegal mages in other words, like you and me. Are you following me so far?"

"So this Circle… it seems as though mages don't really have a choice if they want to go or not, right? It must be like a prison…"

"You're correct, it _is_ like a prison. 'Tis hard to believe how these pitiful mages allow themselves to be corralled like animals by the Templars…"

"These Templars are like… guards then right? They investigate all these breaches of the use of magic, demonic invasions, et cetera?"

"Yes, that is what they are _meant _to do. However, most of the time they make the lives of mages miserable through horrific abuse of power and authority. You see, their precious Chantry believes mages and common folk are not equals. They essentially promote and support the persecution of mages."

"Ok, I understand. How about you tell me some more about this… Fade you mentioned? You say it's where magic originates from yeah?"

"Correct, it is also the realm where spirits dwell, and where all visit when they dream. Using magic can draw the attention of the beings on the other side of the Veil, leading to an increased risk of demonic possession. A possessed mage becomes a distortion of their former self, a twisted monster known as an abomination that has enough power to wipe away entire villages off the map. Demons tend to give mages tantalising offers that are very difficult to refuse. If they accept, I think you can guess what happen. Hence, the mages must undergo a Harrowing, an encounter with a demon, when they come of age in the Circle," she sighed.

"And y'all think I'm a mage or an abomination or whatever cos of the way I killed those Templars, yeah?"

"Yes, that is very much the case. I can also sense your connection with the Fade, and something else…" she trailed off mysteriously.

"Well whatever crap you sense or think, let me tell you this. The power which I used to kill the Templars is not magic; it has a perfectly logical explanation, and there is no demonic bullshit hovering around it. However, I do admit that I've been having strange dreams since I came over here. Reapers speaking in riddles, lava creatures, naked women with horns on their heads, you name it."

Whatever she was going to say in response was drowned out by a ferocious howl, the clanging of metal, gurgling laughter and a myriad of other horrible noises from outside. A stench shortly followed the noises. It was putrid, and Rick felt like getting sick.

However, the opportunity could not be ignored. This was a chance to vamoose out of there.

* * *

_A/N: I apologise for the delay in fielding this meager chapter. I though it was quite difficult to write, having to consult the wiki on magic and all that, as well as being delayed by other business. That being said, the next chapter should be significantly easier because it's a battle, as you probably guessed. Please don't hesitate to review as the input really helps and inspires!_

_Hope I answered your question Warmaster Tzeentch! :)_

_'Til next time!_

_ME and DA belong to BioWare._


	7. Hello, Darkspawn

**The Wardens' Camp**

Morrigan promptly hoisted her staff and was about to run out of the tent but Rick interrupted her.

"Hey! You're not leaving me here are you? What happens if whatever is out there comes inside and finds me helplessly struggling against my chains?" he shouted.

"Do you take me for a fool? You'll simply use this as an opportunity to escape!" she wheeled around sharply.

_Oh she's gotta be joking goddamit! C'mon Morrigan, untie me! Untie me for fuck's sake!_

"Morrigan, you have to release me. I'll help you fight these things!" he pleaded.

"No is the answer, I'm not about to stand here and argue like a child while there's a fight outside, you-" she suddenly broke off.

There was a strange, hazy look in her eye, and Rick was alarmed for a second. Shuffling to the side, he took a look at the tent flap to make sure nothing snuck in behind her. It was all clear, no monsters stabbing her in the back. He redirected his gaze back to Morrigan, who he noticed was now trembling slightly.

_She must be fighting a mental battle or something, holy fuck this is creepy!_

Her eyes began darting from side to side, and sweat was visibly rolling down her forehead. Her breath was coming in short, labored gasps. Rick was about to ask her what was going on when she snapped out of it. She inhaled a deep breath while simultaneously shaking her head side to side.

"Hey, are you alright? You were shaking like crazy there, what happened?" he asked.

"Doesn't matter," she rasped, wiping the sweat off her brow with her arm, "you're going to help me in this battle. If you try _anything _other than fighting the foe_, _I'll gut you with my bare hands. Am I clear?"

"Crystal, now let's go!"

Rick was eager to be up doing something, anything but being in the tent. He was cramped up from sitting there, and the manacles were beginning to chafe. If he had to fight a load of ugly fuckers, so be it. He just hoped his biotics and hand to hand would be sufficient, and that whatever paralysed Morrigan would be gone by now.

As she finished undoing his clasps, she stood up and threw him a small dagger. Rick examined the small blade and looked back at Morrigan. She smiled and beckoned for him to come outside. It was time to kick some ass!

* * *

Morrigan had no idea what just happened. Things were going as normal as they possibly could be during a Darkspawn raid on the camp, but then the whispers climbed to an intensity she hadn't encountered before.

They seemed to pick up as soon as she tried to exit the tent, and the man told her not to leave him behind. The words that cascaded towards her were like a waterfall. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe and she couldn't think. The whispers squeezed her as tight as they possible could, wrestling her into submission until she was unable to resist. Give in, the voices said, and she did just that.

There was no point in fighting something that could choke the life out of her so easily, best to aid it until it trusts you and then stab it in the back when it least expects. The man was very casual after putting her through such torment, for it was inevitably him. He even seemed confused as to what happened to her, putting on an eerily convincing show.

_If he wants to play games, then so be it. It will be fascinating to see how he fares in the battle with such a small dagger and no staff…_

Morrigan smiled at the yet unidentified man, and ran out into the fray.

* * *

Rick parted the tent flaps to reveal a clearing full of ugly creatures, tall and short, attacking who he presumed were the Wardens. They wielded rusty, wicked looking swords and maces, their armor made of equally tarnished scraps of metal and pieces of leather. But the stench was unbelievable; Rick couldn't even begin to describe it.

The beasts were focused around a huge man with white dreadlocks wearing plate armor, another smaller man in chainmail and Marina. Rick spotted the other girl from their encounter on the road picking off monsters with arrows from a small hill across the camp, and the dog was viciously biting and tackling stragglers who were unlucky enough to get in its way.

Rick instinctively ducked from the searing heat of an enormous fireball Morrigan launched towards the next group of creatures. They were immediately incinerated in a cacophony of guttural screams and wails and the stench of burnt flesh.

There was no more time to think because one of the clunky midget monsters rushed Rick, flailing its ancient looking mace around trying to cave in Rick's kneecaps while laughing maniacally. In its eyes, he was a prime target, being armed with just a small dagger and no armor on his body.

As it brought the mace around for another swing, Rick dodged it, immediately kicking the thing in the chest, sending it stumbling backwards. Rick drove the dagger into its face as it desperately tried to block, ending its life. He removed the dagger with a sickening squelch and the body slumped to the floor. The encounter lasted less than five seconds.

A few of the enemy archers noticed the easy target, and decided to send a few arrows his way. Rick noticed the shafts flying towards him, and immediately swiped his hand in front of him like he'd often seen in the vids to trigger a biotic barrier. Sure enough, he glowed blue and there was a loud _brrrum_ as the barrier sprung to life. The arrows harmlessly stopped a few centimetres away from his body, plopping down on the ground.

The trio of archers had seemingly flanked around, hoping to catch the defenders from behind. They were shooting arrows at him from what looked like a supply cart. Suddenly, it looked as if luck was on Rick's side because he noticed his bag poking out of the cart. He'd be able to eliminate the freaks and escape with all his gear.

Sparing a glance at Morrigan and the others, he was satisfied to see them focusing on the last wave of beasts. They'd seemingly forgotten about him.

_Time to charge these fuckers!_

He ran straight at the archers through the cluster of tents, not even bothering to zig-zag. The idea was to intimidate them with his biotic barrier so that they'd hopefully run away. Of course, the creatures, all human sized this time, threw down their bows and drew the usual rusty array of blades. They bellowed terrible war cries, and charged Rick all at the same time.

Rick was confident they didn't see him picking up the midget monster's backup weapons a few seconds ago; two rusty kitchen knives. So it came as a total surprise for the beasts when he flung all three knives one by one, striking each creature square in the face thanks to the uncanny strength and accuracy the Reaper implants bestowed upon him. They didn't even manage to get close.

Rick chuckled to himself, pulling out his pack and a fine, unstained blade from the cart. He strapped the items on and began walking away from the camp. He failed to notice a soft glow in the grass, and inevitably stepped on it.

The rune flashed a blinding white and Rick felt his legs turn to cement. He couldn't move a muscle; he was paralysed. Still having the ability to move his eyeballs, he spotted another one of the freaks in the treeline. It was wearing a weird hat-mask thing and brandishing an old branch in the air. It appeared to be delighted with its catch, and began making its way towards Rick.

Rick noticed it pulling out one of the trademark rusty daggers out of a pouch on its hip. It was obvious the creature didn't actually fight with the knife; rather it used the blade as a sacrificial weapon. The chortling laughter and the horrible stench got even worse as it shambled over.

Rick was desperately trying to use a biotic power or indeed anything that would send him out of the way. However, it was all in vain because the thing reached him unhindered and brought its blade up to deliver the final blow.

However, just before he brought the knife down, Rick noticed something flying at speed out of the corner of his eye. The arrow hit the beast in the neck, making it fall to the side gurgling and clutching at the wound. The sacrificial knife fell harmlessly out of its hand, and the magic holding Rick in place died out, causing him to stumble forward.

He was just about to face plant into the ground when a hand caught his arm and steadied him. He turned around to see the red haired girl he spotted earlier using the bow looking at him. She had a self-satisfied smile plastered on her face.

"Now you weren't trying to escape were you?" she chided playfully in a musical French accent.

"Errr… no, nothing like that. You see, I spotted this guy squatting in the bushes with his big stick, so I decided to kick his ass before he managed to cook up any trouble for y'all! But then I stumbled into this trap, so yeah…" Rick replied cautiously.

She made a semi-serious face and nodded, "Ah of course! I understand now why it was necessary for you to bring your pack as well as Alistair's second favourite sword along. You would've proceeded by throwing the bag at the Emissary to distract him, followed by a thrust with the sword if he hadn't caught you, yes?"

"Yes, that's exactly it. I can't believe you figured out my plan so easy!" he responded with similar sarcasm.

"I know everything" she winked at him "Now come and help me hunt down the Darkspawn that fled the battle. The others are busy tending to their injuries."

"Umm right, lead the way!"

* * *

They ran through the woods for a while, following any traces or footprints the Darkspawn left behind in their retreat. Rick was impressed at how fast the woman was; she didn't even seem to tire from the constant running and jumping over rocks and rotting logs. This sort of pace would've previously exhausted Rick, but the Reaper nanites made sure that he didn't even break a sweat. He was sure he could push himself much further and outrun his hunting partner, but she made him leave his bag back in the supply cart.

_It'll slow you down, she said... Yeah, right._

She didn't miss a thing. He wasn't going to go anywhere without his belongings, and she knew it. Of course, Rick could've attempted to overpower her and knock her cold, but that seemed just wrong.

_They're giving me a chance here, to prove I'm not some crazy ass demon or whatever. If I can gain their trust by helping out a little, they'll probably let me go anyway. Or, they could just be using me…_

They scoured the woods in silence for a little bit more, but as the sun was beginning to set, the girl motioned for him to come over. They managed to catch most of the Darkspawn that got lost, but a few got away. Most of them were handled with bow and arrow, and Rick only fought when they got too close for comfort. One of the creatures managed to put a cut on his arm when he threw a particularly clumsy swing, but it was neither deep nor painful. However, it did expose a sliver of blue tubing, so he'd have to be careful to keep it hidden.

"I believe that is all we can do. We should return to camp before the sun sets, for dangerous things lurk about at night," she cautioned.

"Ok good, cos I'm starving."

"I'm sorry we haven't had the opportunity to get each other's names yet. I am called Leliana," she smiled.

"Nice to meet you Leliana" he took a breath, "but I must ask, what is it with you people desperately wanting to know my name? That's literally all you've asked since you've had me locked up in that tent, punctuated by the routine accusation of me being an abomination and whatnot."

"We ask you your name in order to find out which Circle you belonged to. It is obvious that you went through some sort of trauma, since you say there is no Circle where you come from, amongst other things, which indicates that you may have amnesia or some similar illness of the mind. You also mentioned several words that we've never heard before, likely in a foreign language. Gahlacksey and ehtsetra were a few of them I believe."

"Right, and when did Morrigan manage to tell you ALL of this?" he laughed.

"Just before I rescued you from the Emissary."

"Ok, so you weren't in too much of a hurry to help me then eh?"

She smiled back at him "Are you perhaps reluctant to tell us your name because you cannot remember it? I took the liberty of looking at some of your belongings while you were getting water just before we left. Is Sphere Laboratories your name? One of your shirts had that stitched on it, as well as what appeared to be a family crest. You are nobility yes? I must say that is a very odd name!" she giggled.

Rick had to laugh at that. "You're not joking are you? You really thing Sphere Laboratories is my name, and that I have amnesia?"

"If that's not your name, then whose shirt is it? Did you steal it from someone? And if you do not have amnesia, why are you so difficult?" she looked a bit miffed at this point.

Rick struggled not to laugh again, wiping the tears away from his eyes, "No I didn't steal it. Sphere Laboratories is the name of the place where I used to work, and the crest is in fact their emblem. I come from somewhere far, far away, and that is why I am so difficult, as you put it."

"I have never heard of such a business, what did they do?"

"I guess they were a group of scholars or something like that. I was paid to guard them and their premises."

They were nearing the clearing near the road on the outskirts of the forest where their camp was set up.

"Interesting, I shall require you to tell me more about your land later!"

"Sure! Oh and by the way, my name is Rick. Rick Morgan."

* * *

_A/N: And there's chapter seven. I did say it was going to be quick didn't I? Please please please review! I will gladly answer any questions you may have, and appreciate any type of feedback at all. I'd especially love to hear your thoughts on who you think the REAL villain is going to be in this story and whatnot..._

_Anyway, regarding the next update, it might be a while 'til it's released cos I think I might do something a little different. So see y'all then._

_BioWare own DA and ME_


	8. Aftermath

**Briefing Room of the SSV Citadel, Somewhere in the Hades Nexus, 2201 **

The majority of the officers were gathered in the briefing room on the CIC deck of the vessel. This was the Citadel's maiden voyage. She was supposed to be the successor to the Normandy line of stealth frigates. Hence, it was important for the men and women stationed on the ship to ensure nothing went wrong.

The Captain was going to give them the mission details in a few minutes. The officers were chatting quietly about various things as they waited. The guys from engineering were debating the strengths and weaknesses of the new eezo core, the techs from the shuttle bay were arguing about Makos and Hammerheads and the squad leaders aired their thoughts about the finer points of battle tactics. But once Captain Williams entered the room, a hushed silence fell over all of them.

* * *

Williams was a living legend in the eyes of the Alliance marines. Having aided Commander Shepard in stopping the Reapers, standing beside him in the streets of London as he made his way towards the Citadel Beam made her a hero, and earned her galaxy wide recognition.

However, it was her actions as a Spectre in the post-war theatre that solidified her reputation. Ashley was tasked by to Council to hunt down the various separatist groups that surfaced after the defeat of the Reapers. The militaries of the major galactic powers were either broken or scattered, the damage done to the mass relays having crippled transportation. Many systems were left defenceless, their surviving patrols and garrisons gone to fight in the final battle at Earth.

This left a huge window of opportunity for the galaxy's undesirables. Pirate fleets not under the control of Aria T'Loak swept down upon the vulnerable colonies, taking them over and becoming the new governors. After the respective powers finally rebuilt their core systems, and began to resurface after a few years, the criminal gangs realised their conquest wouldn't last. Thus, after a period of occasionally violent negotiations, a deal was struck.

The various marauding warlords were to unite under a single banner, the Lishan Consortium. A human called Saul Lishan, owner of Ravenwood, a relatively small-time private security company turned rogue, had somehow managed to unite the bickering clans. As it turned out, Lishan was a tactical genius, his battle plans leading to several spectacular victories over Council forces.

Despite having the untapped potential of Reaper tech at their disposal, the Council races' fleets were still recovering and in places damaged, so the raw, unscarred numbers of the Consortium's ships were a fair match for them. Was it simply coincidence that the myriad of factions that made up the Consortium kept to themselves for the duration of the Reaper War and rose up strong after, or was this an elaborate plan coming to fruition since the first known encounter with a Reaper in 2183? It was frightening to think that someone had planned so far ahead, even before the Reapers were deemed as a real threat. Sure, there was Cerberus, but their plan had failed amazingly. All traces of the pro-human organisation vanished shortly after the Reapers were destroyed.

So how was it that someone was orchestrating such a well-thought out campaign against the Citadel? Seeing no obvious answer, the Council decided to send all of their unoccupied Spectres after Saul Lishan. After a year of infiltrating the Consortium, over a quarter of the Spectres turned up dead. Their bodies, along with anyone that sold them information, were mutilated and displayed in public as a warning. The Consortium sent a clear message; even though they were mercs and pirates, they knew damn well how to play the game.

Of course, the remaining Spectres persisted. After several more years of seemingly pointless espionage, full of traps, false trails and dead ends, Ashley finally caught a break. Intel had identified a possible listening post location on the fringes of Consortium space. This particular listening post, codename Rogue River, was rumoured to be a place which was regularly inspected by one of Lishan's top lieutenants.

* * *

It was decided to send the SSV Ain Jalut to Rogue River. The Ain Jalut was a sister frigate of the original Normandy, being small, manoeuvrable and stealthed. She would drop a team of Spectres a few clicks away from the base. Then, they'd have to make their way on foot across the bare planet's surface until they reached the post. The idea was to get in without being detected, neutralise any resistance and capture all available high priority targets.

The plan went smoothly at first. Getting into the base was no trouble; the perimeter guards were completely oblivious to the Council presence. There was no reason for them to suspect anything, since after all; they _were_ based in a top secret facility in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, the plan went askew once they entered the building itself.

It turned out the cargo bay was full of the Consortium's elite guard, the CIS. They were lying in wait, having set up a perfect ambush thanks to the Geth Scanner tech they had installed in their suits' systems. The lightly-equipped Infiltrator class Spectres were instantly pinned down by the heavy assault rifles and combat shotguns utilised by the CIS. Several of the Spectres were downed, barely kept alive through medi-gel induced comas.

Fortunately, Ashley knew something was going to go wrong, having never fully trusted stealth ops. She preferred to go in like a real Soldier, big guns blazing and wearing heavy armor. Of course, she certainly couldn't afford heavy armor on this particular mission, but she did bring a Cerberus-designed Harrier Assault Rifle, now adopted by nearly all Alliance units.

The CIS troopers were confident they had the upper hand, and were peppering the Spectres' cover with their AR's while several of their men began flanking around the crates to deliver the killing blow. After taking note of their movement patterns, Ash popped up and brought the hammer down on one of the troopers, the powerful burst from the Harrier ripping through his shields and turning his body into hamburger. As the angry CIS men turned their anger on Ashley, the other Spectres got some room to breathe.

A salarian fired a quick burst from his Indra Sniper Rifle, bringing down the kinetic barriers of a Revenant-wielding trooper. As fire was refocused on the salarian's cover, an asari popped up from the other end of a shipping container and used Biotic Pull on the guy with the depleted shields. He was torn from his cover, flailing his limbs wildly and screaming loudly. Seeing the gleam in the asari's eye, the other Spectres began to provide covering fire, giving her the opportunity to send out a Warp.

The orb collided with the flying man, triggering a powerful Biotic Explosion that scattered the CIS troops and shook the room they were all standing in. The Spectres made the most of the bedlam, putting down another three of the enemy. However, their luck once again came to a shuddering stop. One of the Consortium men who'd been hiding in the shadows for the majority of the skirmish stepped out and launched a Biotic Singularity towards the cover of the salarian and his turian partner. The forces emanating from the miniature black hole collapsed what was left of their shields, and launched them into the air.

The CIS troopers promptly focused their fire on the duo, turning them into minced meat. The Spectres were now down five men; three incapacitated and two dead. There were only three left at this point; Ashley, the asari and another salarian. Meanwhile, the CIS lost five of its men too, but having another seven remaining. They were outnumbered over two to one. It was also likely that the Consortium was rerouting reinforcements from other parts of the base to relieve the CIS squad.

* * *

This definitely called for Plan B. The Spectres weren't idiots; they knew things rarely ran smoothly. A call to the Ain Jalut ensured that a shuttle of battle-hardened marines and medics was swiftly making its way to the facility. They would forego any element of stealth at this point, using the shuttle's cannons to blast through the cargo bay doors and strafe the enemy with the manned turrets on the sides of the vehicle.

The shuttle got there none too soon, successfully mowing down the CIS who now managed to injure all three of the remaining Spectres. Williams refused the help of the medics, apart from a small injection of medi-gel. She wanted to lead the marines into the depths of the facility. She knew her implants and training would keep her going that long. The Consortium's elite wouldn't be here if there wasn't a high priority target present. With luck, it would be one of Lishan's lieutenants.

After several tense fire-fights throughout the outpost, the marines arrived at the comms centre. Inside, they found what they were looking for; a man named Luc Devos, a member of Saul Lishan's inner circle. He didn't seem afraid of the guns pointed at him, and even managed to crack a smile at Williams while holding out his hands to be cuffed. He claimed he wouldn't give up anything, and sadly this would likely be true. None of the Consortium people that the Citadel races managed to capture so far revealed anything. Even being locked up in a room with an angry krogan failed to generate an impact on their silence.

As Williams took a look around the room, seeing Alliance techs furiously typing away at the outpost's computers, searching for any relevant information, she noticed something odd. The edge of a Prothean OSD was peeking out from behind a tight space behind a console. It seemed to be made with the specific purpose of hiding the OSD, but whoever stuffed it in there did a bad job of it. At present, relics such as these would be locked away in a store-room, awaiting their turn to be examined by the scientists who were overloaded with enormous amounts of Reaper tech that needed studying.

Ashley heard a tech cursing, and promptly after that the console which was previously hiding the OSD sparked and exploded, a small flame engulfing the OSD's hiding spot. This confirmed her suspicions; the OSD wasn't just some useless relic. She looked at the Consortium man, waving the floppy disc at him, who immediately frowned and turned away; bingo.

* * *

After the techs had gone over the OSD, it was revealed that it contained several coordinates, handed down by none other than Saul Lishan. They all led to stronghold planets deep within Consortium space, however one particular location caught Ashley's eye. Lishan appeared to own a large plot of land on the tropical planet of Virmire, the Consortium having converted the neglected world into a bustling resort for its esteemed citizens.

It was a mystery how they converted a backwater planet into such a tourist attraction. Intel speculated that the project was fuelled by workers from the prison camps the Consortium maintained on nearly every one of their worlds. It seemed as though opposition of any kind wasn't tolerated by their government.

Despite Ashley's history with Virmire; her squadmate Kaidan's sacrifice trying to stop Saren Arterius, the rogue turian Spectre hell-bent on bringing back the Reapers, and all the painful memories that entailed, she was eager to see the planet. A lot had changed about the world in the last few years. Likewise, she had a hunch she'd find _someone _important holed up on the planet.

Each Spectre on the case was assigned to one of the coordinates, and undoubtedly Ash got the one she wanted. Their surveillance operations revealed nothing in the first few weeks of infiltration. Just as command was about to call the investigation stale, a lead appeared on a planet that a salarian Spectre was stationed on.

There were rumors that Saul Lishan would be visiting a wealthy donor to the Consortium's cause on Virmire. Rather, the donor would report to the Consortium's compound where Saul would be waiting for him. This was Ashley's chance to shine. She'd already staked out the compound beforehand, taking note of patrols, shifts, numbers, armaments, automated security systems, and everything else that would impact her chances of sneaking in.

She decided to sneak in via an underwater tunnel that led to a small bay within the grounds. The tunnel itself was rigged with tripwires and mines. However, judging by chatter from the guards, nobody had reviewed the systems in ages. Hopefully that meant that the equipment would be susceptible to the latest jamming tech, creating an ideal entry point into the estate.

The ideal plan was to assassinate Lishan without drawing the attention of the CIS guards. But considering the fact that the CIS possessed Geth Scanner tech, the odds of that plan succeeding were slim. Which was exactly why the Normandy SR2 was standing by in orbit. If detected, Ashley would proceed to smoke out Lishan, who undoubtedly had a shuttle waiting for him. Ashley would tag the shuttle as it took off, and once it was off world, the Normandy would blast it to kingdom come.

This would send a very powerful message. The Normandy was a legendary symbol of victory against impossible odds. The fact that it would essentially behead the Consortium would remind them who exactly they were dealing with. And while the Normandy drew away the Consortium's local space patrols, Ash would gather all available intel from the base and escape the planet on her own shuttle.

* * *

And that was exactly what happened. In the years following Saul Lishan's death, the Consortium fell apart. The criminal warlords who miraculously maintained a stable government when Lishan was alive went back to their petty squabbles. Once the Citadel races mustered a liberation fleet to retake their former colonies, the remains of the Consortium were crippled from all forms of in-fighting. By 2197 most went down without much of a fight, and so ended the Separatist War.

Wary from the recent colossal loss of life, the Citadel races never fully engaged in open warfare. The conflict was limited to several small scale naval skirmishes, and only a handful of ground operations. Ashley William's contribution to the relatively swift and bloodless resolution of the war did not go unnoticed.

She was immediately promoted to the rank of Captain, granted several medals and was given command of the SSV Citadel, a joint prototype vessel that was in development the past few years in preparation for a looming conflict that never arrived. Now, Ash and the ship had a new, more significant purpose.

The intel gathered from Saul Lishan's personal accounts on Virmire was terrifying, bone chilling stuff. The conspiracy was so vast, so intricate so meticulous that it scared the living crap out of all the Citadel leaders. Lishan's inbox contained a message from an old enemy thought long gone; Cerberus.

It praised Saul for running such an effective smokescreen for Cerberus operations that spanned a significant portion of the galaxy neglected during the Separatist War. It was unfathomable how Cerberus operatives, _Cerberus, _could unite aliens and human criminals alike to form a fully functioning government that managed to stand up to the Citadel races.

And yet, there was no sign of any actual plan for galactic conquest. Whatever Cerberus was doing was drawing all of their personnel and resources, completely off the grid. But who was orchestrating all this? The Illusive Man was dead, Kai Leng too, General Oleg Petrovsky in prison, leaving no one else to take up Cerberus' mantle. The Council wanted answers.

* * *

That was the purpose of the Citadel's maiden voyage into the Hades Nexus. Ash stepped to the head of the table in the briefing room and started talking.

"Alright boys and girls, here's the deal. I'm sure you've all read the dossier on our good ol' Cerberus pals. They're currently active in seemingly abandoned corners of the galaxy, going about all sorts of creepy business," she began.

A few of the officers nodded in affirmation.

"Now, as you all know, one of our scout ships did a pass over this area. All of our holdings here were either razed to the ground by the Reapers, or completely wiped off the map like all the planets, including Trident, in the Hoplos System. There was nothing to find here, no survivors, no nothing. Until now," she let the statement sink in.

The assembled crowd looked around at each other, trying to figure out what Williams was going to say before she said it.

"Not too long ago, the brass got word from the Shadow Broker. The Broker's spy drones detected a number of supply ships headed into this sector. The cargo vessels were using sophisticated masking technology, but it wasn't enough to fool the drones. Now why would anyone send a convoy of supplies here, to the middle of nowhere, laden with countermeasures and anti-detection systems? I bet it's Cerberus, and I bet they sure as hell don't want us to find out what they're up to. But unfortunately for them, that's exactly what we're gonna do. ASI, bring up tactical…"

* * *

**Standard Issue Spectre Clearance Galactic Codex 2201 Edition**

_**Primary Codex Entries-Ships and Vehicles-SSV Citadel**_

_The SSV Citadel is an experimental, prototype heavy frigate co-developed by the brightest minds of the Citadel, currently under the command of Ashley Williams. The Citadel was built as a successor to the Normandy line of frigates, who at this point were in need of retrofits and likely would not last in a prolonged conflict against the Lishan Consortium. _

_The Citadel boasts a variety of upgraded systems, including an element zero core reverse engineered from Reaper vessels, giving it much greater speed and performance capability. It also houses the latest versions of armor plating and shields, similarly acquired through study of Reaper technology. Armaments include a spinal mounted Thanix 2.0 cannon, Blackstar torpedo pods, dual ship-sized Geth Spitfire cannons and conventional missile pods for ground targets._

_The Citadel's cyberwarfare suites are unmatched, as the ship is equipped with the Advanced Shipboard Intelligence. The ASI was modelled on Normandy's EDI, with additional code from the Geth. Thus, the ASI is a hybrid of the two systems, possessing the qualities of both, hence making it a formidable, unexpected foe._

_**Primary Codex Entries-Organisations-The Lishan Consortium**_

_The Lishan Consortium was formed by the unification of a dozen criminal bands that had taken over territory formerly under the control of Citadel races. A human named Saul Lishan, of the Ravenwood Private Security Company, a front for Cerberus, came up with the idea and thus became its leader. _

_Lishan's excellent organisational and tactical skills allowed for the Consortium to resist any attempts made by the Citadel to retake its colonies. This amazing skillset, no doubt nurtured by Cerberus, allowed Lishan to structure the Consortium in the image of a real government. The organisation maintained an iron grip on the conquered territories, but also commissioned public works such as the improvement of the Virmire colony through forced labour of those who dared oppose the regime._

_Following the involvement of the Spectres, the Consortium created the Consortium Intelligence Service (CIS), a unit which accepted only the best the Consortium had to offer. The CIS was designed to act as an effective countermeasure against Spectre operatives, as well as to serve as bodyguards for important figures in the Consortium._

_Fortunately the Consortium descended into chaos after Saul Lishan was shot down by the Normandy. The bickering warlords tore each other apart over who should be the next leader, and any attempts to end the inner struggle were stubbornly ignored. This left a disorganised mess off weary criminals to fight the inevitable liberation fleets, and thus the remains of the organisation folded quickly and relatively bloodlessly under the onslaught. To this day, minor pockets of resistance are still occurring across the board, but they are considered an insignificant threat._

_However, according to intel recovered from Saul Lishan's private accounts, the Consortium was nothing more than a distraction meant to hide Cerberus' activities throughout the galaxy. Allied intelligence agencies are still investigating the full implications of this discovery._

_**Secondary Codex Entries-Timeline**_

_2187 – The Reapers are defeated. Commander Shepard uses the Crucible to send out an energy pulse across the galaxy which disables all Reaper forces and severely damages the mass relays, sacrificing himself in the process._

_2188 – Criminal bands begin to take over defenceless colonies and outposts that previously belonged to the Citadel races._

_2190 – Construction efforts in core systems are complete, the Citadel is rebuilt and relocated back to the Serpent Nebula. Citadel races begin to scout out their former holdings, only to discover them to be occupied by hostile warlords. The Lishan Consortium is formed. Early liberation efforts are in vain as very few succeed and the Citadel fleets take unacceptable losses. Separatist War begins._

_2191 – Spectres are deployed to infiltrate the Consortium and assassinate Lishan. CIS is formed._

_2194 – Raid on outpost "Rogue River" occurs._

_2195 – Saul Lishan is killed in orbit of Virmire. Consortium descends into chaos. Liberation fleet is deployed._

_2197 – Final pockets of major Consortium resistance are eliminated. Separatist War ends._

_2200 – Finishing touches are put upon the SSV Citadel._

_2201 – Current date._

* * *

_A/N: Well there it is, chapter 8. I apologise for taking so long, this chapter was fairly difficult to write, and I didn't have much time during the weekdays. I hope y'all enjoy this backstory I've cooked up for the state of the galaxy after the Reaper invasion. Yes, it will be important in the grand scheme of things, so don't dismiss this as an irrelevant chapter to Rick's adventure. Please review, and don't hesitate to ask any questions.  
_

_Special Thanks to joniedinofreak for helping out on this one!_

_A cookie to those who can catch the Jericho references!_

_ Matalvis - Keep an eye on that indoctrination, who knows what it might lead to._

_ Dur'id the Druid - Thank you  
_

_BioWare owns ME and DA._


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